How to take a quick divorce? An instant divorce, which is not only quick but also efficient, easy, and assured. When we talk about divorce, it is the judicial divorce a couple is seeking from the court under the religion-based respective Marriage Act. Muslim personal laws alone have provision for extrajudicial divorce, even there also the “Triple Talak” has been held unconstitutional.
In India, there is a diversity of religious practices in marriages and divorce and therefore, we have multiple Marriage Acts based on a different religion. Some of them are, The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955; The Special Marriage Act, 1954; The Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1872; The Divorce Act, The Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act and The dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act, 1939 (as amended in 2016), etc.
All the above, marriage Acts provide a mechanism to provide judicial divorce, with more or less common grounds for contested divorce like neglect, adulatory, cruelty, impotency, etc. A contested divorce means when one party/couple files a divorce petition in court against another spouse and seeks to prove any one or more grounds, as mentioned above. The judicial process of divorce in a contested divorce case takes a hell lot of time, sometimes the proceeding does not culminate and continue for several years with no end in sight.
There is another way to get an instant judicial divorce for disputing couples by obtaining divorce decree through mutual consent. This is a common ground in almost all different Marriage Acts.
The provision of Mutual consent divorce in different Marriage Acts are as follows:-
1. The Hindus (including Sikhs, Jain, and Buddhist) can file under Section 13-B of The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
2. In Inter-Caste or Inter-Religion marriages, the couple can file a mutual divorce case under Section 28 of The Special Marriage Act, 1954.
3. Christians file for divorce under Section 10 A (1) of the Divorce Act.
4. A Parsi couple can file under Section 32 B of The Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936; and
5. A Muslim wife can file a case for a decree of dissolution of marriage under sec. 13 of The Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act, 1939 (as amended in 2016).
This method of getting a divorce through mutual consent under relevant provisions involves, a two-step process, first is the Divorce Mediation, to resolve all marital disputes and record settlement agreement. The second is, filing court motion for seeking divorce under summary provisions, like Sec.13(b) of Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. Let’s understand it with the first step i.e. Divorce Mediation.
Divorce Mediation to get quick divorce
The pre-requisite for taking the second step i.e. filing of first motion divorce petition on mutual consent in the court is that there should be the resolution of all inter-se disputes between the couple and recording of a settlement agreement. To get a quick divorce, there should be a quick resolution of disputes through divorce mediation, which is recorded in the form of the settlement agreement. This settlement agreement than can be annexed with or at least terms of such settlement can be recorded in the first motion divorce petition to be filed in the court.
The disputing couple may have concluded seeking divorce on mutual consent, for they might not be seeing any future in their relationship due to their unending differences or any other reason. Although, they may still have other concerns, which have not been settled amongst them to take a mutual divorce.
Therefore, to enable parties to move to the second step of filing a first and second motion petition in court for seeking a divorce decree, the parties first must resolve their disputes/concerns. This can be done more quickly and efficiently through divorce mediation with the help of a trained and certified mediator. Normally, upon escalation of differences and conflict, it is difficult to resolve those concerns relating to stridhan, maintenance, alimony, and custody of children, if any, without the help of a third-party mediator.
Getting ready for court motion filing
After a settlement agreement is recorded through divorce mediation between the parties, the second step is of filing the First Motion Petition, seeking a waiver of the statutory “Cooling Off” period and Second Motion petition.
Under the provisions of the Hindu Marriage Act, on the ground of Mutual consent, a first motion is to be filed with prior separation of minimum period of one year. The provisions provided a cooling-off period of 6 months for the parties to wait after the first motion is allowed before the filing of the second motion petition for a final decree of divorce. Thus, the entire process from the filing of first motion petition through second motion and passing of the final decree of divorce on mutual consent normally takes 7-8 months, including the 6 months cooling off period.
The statutory “Cooling off” period of 6 months could be a long waiting period for most of the couples seeking a mutual divorce. In this regard, a judgment was passed in Amardeep Singh Vs. Harveen Kaur’s case by Hon’ble Supreme Court, whereby this cooling-off period has been made directory and the concerned court in its discretion can waive 6 months upon a waiver application to be filed after a week of the filing of first motion petition.
However, the first requirement for such a waiver is that there should a prior resolution of all concerns and disputes between couples either through self resolution or Divorce mediation assisted by a mediator. The other relevant criteria for exercising this discretion by the concerned court for such waiver is that there should be either an irrevocable breakdown of marriage or delay that may be causing unwarranted hardship or agony. The couple can apply for a waiver by moving a separate application after filing the first motion petition if the total period of separation on the date of filing of first motion is more than 18 months.
In such circumstances, the first step of divorce mediation helps parties achieve a quick resolution, which enables them to get a waiver of 6 months “cooling off” period. Thus, the parties practically can get a final decree of divorce in 10-15 days only. These two steps enable disputing couples to get a quick, efficient, and assured divorce.
The Author, Legal Mind Ajit Kumar, is a Relationship Coach, Family Mediator, and an expert in conflict resolution besides being a practicing Divorce/Family Lawyer. If you want, a Private Marital or Divorce Mediation through Video Conferencing or one to one online/phone counseling on any relationship issues, you can call and make an appointment at +91-9810522134. If you are in a dysfunctional marriage and looking for a quick divorce, visit our website https://medvorce.com for a free registration by creating an account to find if you are qualified for a mutual and uncontested divorce.
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