As per the provisions of Section 13-B of the Hindu Marriage Act, in the case of divorce by mutual consent, a minimum of 6 months’ period is necessary for passing the decree of divorce after the filing of the mutual consent petition. However, you have mentioned that you had earlier filed a divorce petition and the family court has already converted your existing divorce petition into a mutual consent petition and also that the family court has already passed order waiving the said period of 6 months. If that be the case, then it should generally be possible for the decree of divorce being passed on the next date; of course, it may depend on the discretion of the court.
Whether you should pay the full settlement amount on the first date in one instalment or whether it should be paid in two instalments, will depend on the terms of your agreement with your wife. It is for both the parties to agree, also depending upon your level of mutual trust and confidence. There is no hard and fast rule as to whether it is safe to pay the amount in one instalment in advance; it is not a question of law; it is a question of your mutual trust.
Similarly, the question whether or not all pending cases should be withdrawn before the decree of divorce is passed, will depend on your terms of agreement and mutual trust. It is not a question of law. In any case, in your matter, you have filed only one case (divorce petition) which has already been converted into mutual consent petition for divorce (as you have mentioned), which means this needs no withdrawal; other two cases are filed by your opposite party and if they are withdrawn before the decree of divorce is passed, you’ll not lose anything and will rather benefit.
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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