Misha Somani v. Rituraj Somani - S.13B Hindu Marriage Act- Waiver Of Cooling Period
Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 - Section 13B(2) - High Court rejected the request made by the parties, for waiving of the cooling period of 6 months - Allowing appeal, SC observed: When the parties have taken a conscious decision to seek a decree of divorce by mutual consent under Section 13B of the Act, there is no point in keeping the marriage continuing.
Case Info
Case name and neutral citation:Misha Somani v. Rituraj Somani, Civil Appeal No. 801 of 2026 (arising out of SLP (C) No. 3775 of 2026)
Coram:Hon’ble Mr. Justice M.M. SundreshHon’ble Mr. Justice Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh
Judgment date:02 February 2026 (New Delhi)
Case laws and citations referred
- Amardeep Singh v. Harveen Kaur, (2017) 8 SCC 746
- Amit Kumar v. Suman Beniwal, (2023) 17 SCC 648
Statutes / laws referred
- Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
- Section 13B(1) – mutual consent divorce: one-year separation requirement
- Section 13B(2) – six‑month “cooling‑off” period
- Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
- Order XXXII‑A Rule 3 (Order 32‑A Rule 3) – duty of court in family matters to make efforts for settlement
- Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
- Section 23(2) – court’s duty to attempt reconciliation
- Family Courts Act, 1984
- Section 9 – duty of Family Court to assist and persuade parties to arrive at settlement
- Constitution of India
- Article 142 – Supreme Court’s power to do complete justice (used to directly grant mutual consent divorce)
Brief summary (three sentences)
The Supreme Court held that the Madhya Pradesh High Court had misconstrued Amardeep Singh v. Harveen Kaur in refusing to waive the six‑month cooling‑off period under Section 13B(2) of the Hindu Marriage Act, despite both spouses being firmly agreed on mutual consent divorce. Relying on Amit Kumar v. Suman Beniwal, the Court reiterated that the factors listed in Amardeep Singh for waiving the waiting period are illustrative and Section 13B(2) is directory, so that prolonging a dead marriage and the parties’ agony serves no purpose when reconciliation is not possible. Exercising its power under Article 142, the Court set aside the High Court’s order, granted a decree of divorce by mutual consent, and directed that the parties’ Settlement Agreement (Annexure P/1) form part of the order.