Ending a marriage legally is divorce and the easiest and the least traumatizing way to get a divorce and dissolve the marriage which is not working for either of the spouses is by mutual consent.
A decree for divorce by mutual consent can be passed and is liable to be passed where the parties seek divorce by mutual consent only by resort to the specific provisions of law.
Different religions are governed with their respective laws for divorce such as section 13B of Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, section 28 of Special Marriage Act, 1954 and Section- 10A of the Divorce Act, 1869, provides for the provision for divorce by mutual consent.
As per the stated provisions of law, the divorce procedure fundamentally begins with the filing of a divorce petition. However before filing a Divorce Petition certain important points have to be taken into consideration.
Pre-Conditions to obtain a divorce by Mutual Consent are as below:
- That the husband and wife should have been living separately for a period of one year or more immediately preceding the presentation of the petition. This period of one year has been mandatory and thus an application for divorce by mutual consent cannot be filed within a period of one year from the date the marriage was solemnized. The minimum period of separation is two years under Section- 10A of the Divorce Act, 1869 applicable to Christian religion.
As regard the term “living separately” stated in the provision of law it has been explained by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Smt. Sureshta Devi vs. Om Parkash; (1991) 2 SCC 25, wherein it has been held that living under the same roof but in these circumstances are not cohabiting and have no intention to live as husband and wife as such their being under one roof does not amount to living as husband and wife.The meaning of the expression „living separately‟ under the Act has also been discussed and explained by cantenas of Judgements by Hon’ble High Courts including by the Hon’ble Delhi High court in Meghna Deva vs. Siddharth Suryanarayan; 131 (2006) Delhi Law Times 513 wherein after considering Sureshta Devi’s case (supra) it has been held that the essence is the relationship of husband and wife and not the same roof.
2. There must be no coercion, fraud or undue influence between the husband and wife and there must be free consent to get the mutual consent divorce.
3. That both husband and wife have mutually agreed that the marriage should be dissolved and have decided on the mutual terms and conditions.
An Attorney can be consulted to assist in finalising the consent terms.
Jurisdiction/ Where to file a divorce petition:
A joint petition is usually required to be presented to the district court within the local limits of whose ordinary original civil jurisdiction –
- where couple seeking divorce last lived, or
- where the marriage was solemnized, or
- where the wife is residing as of present.
Procedure for getting a decree of divorce by mutual consent:
STEP 1: First Motion involves joint filing of divorce petition.
STEP 2: Husband & wife appear before court to record statements after filing of petition.
STEP 3: Court examines petition, documents, tries reconciliation, records statements.
STEP 4: Court passed order on First Motion.
STEP 5: Cooling off period of six months given to couple by court to rethink decision.
STEP 6: Decree of Divorce
If the court is satisfied after hearing the parties that the allegations in the petition are true and that there cannot be any possibility of reconciliation and cohabitation, it can pass a decree of divorce declaring the marriage to be dissolved.
ADVANTAGEOUS
The divorce becomes final once the decree of divorce has been passed by the court.
Obtaining divorce through mutual consent is advantageous over a conventional divorce that requires allegations & proving fault of the other party as it saves both time and money.
Mutual Consent Divorce does not require any allegations and counter allegations to be raised against any of the parties.
Further One lawyer can represent both the parties, as a common petition is filed on behalf of both the parties, if both parties agree and a well drafted joint petition can be placed before the Concerned court.
A joint mutual divorce petition has to be drafted so that there is no room of any allegation and counter allegation between the parties.
Recent Development in law – “Consent for Mutual Divorce via SKYPE”
During the process of mutual Divorce the presence of both the parties are required while filing of the joint petition and verification. However there are certain cases wherein physical presence of the party is not possible.The Hon’ble Bombay High Court in the light of technological development and after placing relianceon various judgements in a significant judgment of Harshada Bharat Deshmukh Vs. Bharat Appasaheb Deshmukh Writ Petition St. No. 1788 of 2018 directed the Family Court to allow recording of consent terms via Skype or any other technology.
CONCLUSION:
Divorce by mutual consent is the best way of divorce as the parties do not have to bad mouth each other in the courtroom and both parties can mutually settle on all issues and end their marriage with a period of approximately 6 to 8 months.
By:
-Adv. Raghavendra S. Mehrotra, Founder & Managing partner of Lawkhart Legal and Team of Lawkhart Legal
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The information contained on this Legal/Law Article is intended to solely to provide general guidance on matters of interest for the personal use of the reader, who accept full responsibility for its use. The application and the impact of laws can vary widely based on the specific facts involved. As such, it should not be used as a replacement for consultation from a competent legal advisor. The content described in the article is purely based on facts and figures and in no way represent any views or opinion by team and Advocates associated to Lawkhart Legal.