Punjab HC allows waiver of 6 months in converted 13-B divorce!

Jai Ho!  What can we say when there is a clear Supreme court judgment that only SC can waive off 6 months waiting period on conversion of divorce petition into mutual consent divorce under Sec 13 B of HMA 1955.  And a recent Punjab and Haryana High court judgment has upheld the SC judgment’s precedent in another similar case.

Anyway, let the couple live happily divorced now, we don’t have anything against them 🙂

Full judgment below with important points made bold:

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http://www.indiankanoon.org/doc/1785177/

    Civil Revision No. 7432 of 2009(O&M) 1  IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA
AT CHANDIGARH

                                Civil Revision No. 7432 of 2009(O&M)

                                Date of Decision: February 04, 2010

Parmodh Kumar …… Petitioner   Versus

Meena …… Respondent   Coram: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Ajay Tewari   Present:
Mr.H.S.Bedi, Advocate

            for the petitioner.

            Mr.Amit Sharma , Advocate

            for the respondent.

                   ****

1. Whether Reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment?

2. To be referred to the Reporters or not?

3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the Digest?  Ajay Tewari, J.

            This revision has been filed against the order of the learned
Addl.District Judge, Fast Track Court, Gurdaspur under the Hindu Marriage  Act,
1956 (herein after referred to as ‘the Act’ for short) whereby the divorce
petition between the parties has been adjourned to 03.06.2010.  Learned counsel
are agreed that originally the divorce petition  had been filed by the
petitioner under Section 13 of the Act. Even before  that the parties were
staying separately. During the pendency of the said  petition a settlement came
about between the parties whereby they agreed to  convert the pending divorce
petition into one under Section 13-B of the Act.  Learned counsel for the
petitioner has argued that the petitioner has Civil Revision No. 7432 of
2009(O&M) 2  complied with all the conditions which had been mutually settled
between  the parties for the grant of divorce by mutual consent and that
admittedly  the parties have been staying separately for the past many years. In
the  circumstances it is his contention that adjournment of the case for a
further  period of six months is not in the interest of justice and is in fact
an  extremely blinkered view of law. He has further argued that six months’
period mentioned in the Section would apply only to fresh petitions. He has
relied upon a decision of this court in Amarjeet Kaur v. Bhupinder Singh
reported as 2007(1) RCR(Civil) 834 wherein, in similar circumstances the  period
of six months was waived. Learned counsel for the respondent has  no objection.

             Keeping in view the totality of circumstances and the  exposition
of law in the aforesaid judgment, I find the present to be also a  case where
the period of six months should be waived. Consequently the  order of the
learned trial Court is set aside and the period of six months is  waived. Let
the parties appear before the trial Court on 15.02.2010. The  learned trial
\court will either finalise the divorce petition on that day or, if  the same is
not possible for any pressing reasons, definitely strive to finally  dispose the
same of within the month of February, 2010.  With these observations this
revision is disposed of.  Since the main case has been decided, the Civil Misc.
Applications, if any, stand disposed of.

                                                     (AJAY TEWARI)

                                                         JUDGE

February 04, 2010

sunita