Where both spouses agree the marriage should end and agree on the terms, the divorce is filed jointly. It is the shorter, cheaper and considerably less painful of the two routes, and a good deal of the work in it happens before anything is filed.
The two motions
Under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 — and the corresponding provisions of the other personal laws and of the Special Marriage Act, 1954 — a joint petition is presented and the court records a first motion. A statutory interval then follows, after which the parties return for the second motion and the decree.
The interval exists to give both parties a chance to reconsider. It is six months, and it is not a queue — it is a required gap.
When six months can be waived
In Amardeep Singh v. Harveen Kaur (2017) the Supreme Court held that the interval is directory rather than mandatory. A court may shorten or waive it where the parties have already lived separately for the statutory period, where all issues between them are genuinely settled, and where there is no real prospect of reconciliation.
Whether to apply for a waiver is a judgment on the facts, and it is not automatic. A court that is not satisfied will simply refuse and the six months will run.
What “agreed on the terms” has to mean
This is where mutual petitions come apart. “We have agreed” often means the couple has agreed to divorce and has not agreed on anything else. The terms have to be specific enough to be recorded and, later, enforced:
- Custody of the children, and what access the other parent has — in practical detail, not in principle.
- Maintenance: amount, frequency, duration, and what happens on remarriage.
- Any lump sum, and when it is paid.
- Return of belongings, including stridhan and jewellery.
- Property, and who bears which liability.
Vagueness here is what brings people back to court in three years.
Realistic timing
Six months between motions is the floor, not the estimate. In practice a mutual petition in Kolkata commonly runs somewhere between six and eighteen months from filing to decree, depending on the court’s board. No advocate controls that calendar, and one who gives you a date is guessing.
What to bring
- Marriage certificate or proof of marriage, and wedding photographs if the marriage might be disputed.
- Identity and address proof for both spouses.
- Details of children — ages and current living arrangements.
- What you have on income and assets, both sides.
- Any existing court order, notice or complaint.
The full picture, including the contested route, is on the divorce page. Call or WhatsApp +91 98300 78687.
General information only, not legal advice on any particular case.
