The Madras High Court on Thursday cleared an important roadblock faced by couples seeking mutual divorce under the Indian Divorce Act. Justice P.B. Balaji, delivering his order in CRP No.4013 of 2025, held that Family Courts cannot insist on a mandatory one-year separation before entertaining petitions for divorce by mutual consent. The ruling came in response to a petition filed by a Coimbatore-based couple whose request for early dissolution had been rejected by the local Family Court.
Background
The couple, married just a few years ago, jointly approached the Family Court in April 2025 under Section 10A of the Indian Divorce Act, seeking to end their marriage by mutual consent. They cited irreconcilable differences and stated that the relationship had irretrievably broken down.
However, the Family Court returned their petition, pointing to the law’s requirement that spouses must live separately for at least one year before filing.
Unhappy with the refusal, the couple took their plea to the High Court. Their counsel, Mr. G.R. Deepak, argued that forcing the parties to sit through a statutory waiting period despite clear evidence of breakdown was unjust and would only prolong their distress.
Court's Observations
Justice Balaji carefully considered two significant precedents. First, he referred to a 2022 ruling of the Kerala High Court (Anup Disalva v. Union of India), where the Division Bench had struck down the mandatory waiting period as arbitrary and unconstitutional.
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"The stipulation of one year or more was declared to violate fundamental rights," the Madras bench noted, emphasizing that though not binding, such a judgment carried persuasive weight.
Second, he relied on the Supreme Court's decisions in Shilpa Sailesh v. Varun Sreenivasan (2023) and Amardeep Singh v. Harveen Kaur (2017). Both recognized that in cases where there was no chance of reconciliation, courts could waive "cooling-off" periods to prevent unnecessary suffering.
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"The waiting period is only to enable parties to rethink their decision of separation and nothing more," Justice Balaji remarked during the hearing.
He observed that in situations where couples have already taken a firm and voluntary decision, forcing them to wait serves no meaningful purpose.
Importantly, the court noted that the petitioners had no children and had both sworn affidavits affirming their wish to part ways. With no allegations of coercion or fraud, the judge held that their autonomy and free will must be respected.
Decision
Concluding the matter, Justice Balaji set aside the Coimbatore Family Court’s order and directed it to number the couple's divorce petition without insisting on completion of the one-year separation.
"In light of the rulings of the Supreme Court and the Kerala High Court, the Family Court is certainly entitled to waive the mandatory waiting period and cannot compel the parties to sit through it," the judge declared.
With this ruling, the High Court reaffirmed that procedural rigidity should not add to the misery of already distressed couples. The Civil Revision Petition was allowed, with no order as to costs.
Case Title: S.G.S & M.S.P vs Nil
Case Number: CRP No.4013 of 2025
