The general rule under Section 14 of the Hindu Marriage Act is that the court cannot entertain any petition for divorce, unless at the date of the presentation of the petition one year has elapsed since the date of the marriage. However, under the Proviso to this Section, the Court has been empowered to allow a petition to be presented before one year has elapsed since the date of the marriage on the ground that the case is one of exceptional hardship to the petitioner or of exceptional depravity on the part of the respondent, if an application is made to the court in accordance with such rules as may be made by the High Court in that behalf.
So, you’ll have to check if any such rules have been made by the high court of your area and then in accordance with such rules, you may have to file the application showing as to how this case is one of exceptional hardship to the petitioner or of exceptional depravity on the part of the respondent. If these conditions are met, then it may be legally possible for the court to accept the petition for divorce even before the completion of one year from the date of marriage.
Otherwise, as mentioned above, the divorce petition cannot be presented to the court before completion of one year from the date of marriage.
Section 14 of the Hindu Marriage Act is reproduced below:
“14. No petition for divorce to be presented within one year of marriage.—(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, it shall not be competent for any court to entertain any petition for dissolution of a marriage by a decree of divorce, unless at the date of the presentation of the petition one year has elapsed since the date of the marriage :
Provided that the Court may, upon application made to it in accordance with such rules as may be made by the High Court in that behalf, allow a petition to be presented before one year has elapsed since the date of the marriage on the ground that the case is one of exceptional hardship to the petitioner or of exceptional depravity on the part of the respondent, but if it appears to the Court at the hearing of the petition that the petitioner obtained leave to present the petition by any misrepresentation or concealment of the nature of the case, the court may, if it pronounces a decree, do so subject to the condition that the decree shall not have effect until after the expiry of one year from the date of the marriage or may dismiss the petition without prejudice to any petition which may be brought after the expiration of the said one year upon the same or substantially the same facts as those alleged in support of the petition so dismissed.
(2) In disposing of any application under this section for leave to present a petition for divorce the expiration of one year from the date of the marriage, the Court shall have regard to the interests of any children of the marriage and to the question whether there is a reasonable probability of a reconciliation between the parties before the expiration of the said one year.”
Dr. Ashok Dhamija is a New Delhi based Supreme Court Advocate and author of law books. Read more about him by clicking here. List of his Forum Replies. List of his other articles. List of his Quora Answers. List of his YouTube Videos.
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