The Supreme Court has held that the minimum cooling period of six months for granting the decree of divorce under the Hindu law can be waived by a trial court if there was no possibility of cohabitation between an estranged couple.
The 1955 Hindu Marriage Act provides for a statutory cooling period of six months between the first and the last motion for seeking divorce by mutual consent to explore the possibility of settlement and cohabitation.
The apex court said, the object of the cooling off period was to safeguard against a hurried decision if there was otherwise a possibility of differences being reconciled. It said, though every effort has to be made to save a marriage, but if there are no chances of reunion and there are chances of fresh rehabilitation, the court should not be powerless in enabling the parties to have a better option.
The court also said, in conducting such proceedings, the trial court can use the medium of video conferencing. The bench was dealing with a plea filed by an estranged couple which had sought waiver of the six month period on the ground that they have been living separately for the past eight years and there was no possibility of their re-union.
