IN THE MATTER OF:
Petitioner No. 1's name: PETITIONER NO. 1
AND
Petitioner No. 2's name: PETITIONER NO. 2
JOINT APPLICATION ON BEHALF OF THE PETITIONERS FOR WAIVER OF THE COOLING-OFF PERIOD AND FOR RECORDING THE SECOND MOTION STATEMENTS OF THE PETITIONERS IN THE PRESENT PETITION FOR DIVORCE BY MUTUAL CONSENT
MOST RESPECTFULLY SHOWETH:
1.That the marriage between Petitioner No. 1 and Petitioner No. 2 was solemnized on Date of marriage at Place of marriage.
2.That the said marriage was registered on Date of marriage registration at the office of the Registrar of Marriages, Place of marriage registration.
3.That Petitioner No. 1 and Petitioner No. 2 lived together as husband and wife until Date of separation.
4.That no child has been born out of the wedlock of Petitioner No. 1 and Petitioner No. 2.
5.That the present marriage between the petitioners has been beset with difficulties since its inception. The petitioners had temperamental differences, and since Date of separation, Petitioner No. 1 and Petitioner No. 2 have been living separately from each other.
6.That the friends and family members of both petitioners made sincere efforts to reconcile the temperamental differences between them, but such efforts proved futile.
7.That thereafter, Petitioner No. 1 and Petitioner No. 2 filed the present petition for divorce by mutual consent, wherein the statements of the first motion under Section 13B(1) of the Hindu Marriage Act were recorded before this Hon'ble Court on Date of recording of first motion statements, and the petition was thereafter adjourned to Next date of hearing for recording the second motion under Section 13B(2) of the Hindu Marriage Act.
8.That the statutory period of six months specified in Section 13B(2), in addition to the statutory period of one year of separation of the petitioners specified in Section 13B(1), had already expired before the recording of the first motion statements under Section 13B(1) of the Hindu Marriage Act.
9.That all efforts for mediation and conciliation, including the efforts made in terms of Order CPC order number on mediation efforts Rule 3 CPC / Section 23(2) of the Act / Section 9 of the Family Courts Act, to bring about a reunion of the petitioners have failed, and there is no likelihood of success in that direction by any further effort.
10.That the continuation of the proceedings for dissolution of marriage for any further period would cause exceptional hardship to the petitioners and would further lead to exceptional depravity on their part, thereby causing them difficulty in their future endeavours, as the marriage could not be repaired and has broken down completely, with no possibility of recovery.
11.That both petitioners are well-educated graduates, are pursuing further studies, and are concerned about their careers, which are yet to begin. The marriage between them has broken down irretrievably and there is no possibility of its restoration. If the present application is not allowed, it will divert the petitioners from rebuilding their future, and they will suffer exceptional hardship and exceptional depravity as their marriage failed to consummate. Furthermore, binding them to a broken marriage will adversely affect them psychologically, leading to frustration and a hindrance to their future opportunities as professionals belonging to respectable families.
12.That the petitioners shall suffer the trauma of carrying the burden of a dead marriage if the waiting period is not waived. The delay is only adding to the agony of their tormented lives. Both parties shall stand to benefit if the present application is allowed, as it has become impossible for the petitioners to reconsider their decision to reconcile with each other for any reason.
13.That the petitioners have genuinely settled their differences, including the question of alimony and all other pending issues between them, and the waiting period will only prolong their agony.
14.That there has been an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage between the petitioners, and all efforts to save the marriage have proved futile.
15.That it is pertinent to mention here that:
In *Amardeep Singh v. Harveen Kaur, relied upon by the Family Court and the High Court, this Court held: (2017) 8 SCC 746:*
"19. Applying the above to the present situation, we are of the view that where the court dealing with a matter is satisfied that a case is made out to waive the statutory period under Section 13-B(2), it can do so after considering the following: (i) The statutory period of six months specified in Section 13-B(2), in addition to the statutory period of one year under Section 13-B(1) of separation of parties is already over before the first motion itself; (ii) All efforts for mediation/conciliation including efforts in terms of Order 32-A Rule 3 CPC/Section 23(2) of the Act/Section 9 of the Family Courts Act to reunite the parties have failed and there is no likelihood of success in that direction by any further efforts; (iii) The parties have genuinely settled their differences including alimony, custody of child or any other pending issues between the parties; (iv) The waiting period will only prolong their agony. The waiver application can be filed one week after the first motion giving reasons for the prayer for waiver. If the above conditions are satisfied, the waiver of the waiting period for the second motion will be in the discretion of the court concerned. Further, this Court held that the statutory waiting period of at least six months mentioned in Section 13B(2) of the Hindu Marriage Act was not mandatory but directory and that it would be open to the Court to exercise its discretion to waive the requirement of Section 13B(2), having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case, if there was no possibility of reconciliation between the spouses, and the waiting period would serve no purpose except to prolong their agony."
16.That in the case of Amit Kumar vs. Suman Beniwal, the Hon'ble Supreme Court held that:
"Para 30. In the facts and circumstances of this case, this Court deems it appropriate to exercise its power under Article 142 of the Constitution of India, to grant the Appellant and the Respondent a decree of divorce by mutual consent under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, waiving the statutory waiting period of six months under Section 13(B)(2) of the said Act."
17.That the petitioners have, freely, of their own accord, and without any coercion or pressure, arrived at a genuine settlement which takes care of the question of alimony and all other pending issues between them.
PRAYER
It is, therefore, most respectfully prayed that this Hon'ble Family Court may graciously be pleased to allow the present joint application on behalf of the petitioners for waiver of the cooling-off period and for recording the second motion statements of the petitioners in the present petition for divorce by mutual consent, and permit the petitioners to record their second motion statements, in the interest of justice.
Any other order which this Hon'ble Court deems fit and proper may also kindly be passed in favour of the petitioners, in the facts and circumstances of the present case.
Date:
Place:
Applicant/Petitioner No. 1Applicant/Petitioner No. 2
THROUGH COUNSEL
Counsel's name
(Advocate)
BEFORE THE HON'BLE PRINCIPAL JUDGE, FAMILY COURT AT LUCKNOW
Petitioner No. 1's namePETITIONER NO. 1
Petitioner No. 2's namePETITIONER NO. 2
Case No. Case number of Case year
Under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
AFFIDAVIT
I, Petitioner No. 1's name, aged about Petitioner No. 1's age, daughter of Petitioner No. 1's father's name, wife of Petitioner No. 2's name, resident of Petitioner No. 1's address, the deponent above named, do hereby solemnly affirm and state on oath as under:
1.That the deponent is herself Petitioner No. 1 in the present petition and as such she is fully conversant with the facts of the case deposed hereunder.
2.That the contents of the application, from paragraph 1 to paragraph 14, are correct and true to the best of my knowledge and personal belief.
Lucknow(Deponent)
Date:
VERIFICATION
I, the above-named deponent, do hereby verify that the contents of paragraphs 1 and 2 of this affidavit are true to my personal knowledge. No part of it is false and nothing material has been concealed therefrom.
Signed and verified at the Family Court compound, Place of signing (first affidavit).
Place of signing (first affidavit)(Deponent)
Dated:
BEFORE THE HON'BLE PRINCIPAL JUDGE, FAMILY COURT
Place of signing (first affidavit)
Mrs. Petitioner No. 1's nameAND Petitioner No. 2's name
Case No. Case number / Case year
Under Section 13(b) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
AFFIDAVIT
I, Petitioner No. 2's name, aged about Petitioner No. 2's age years, son of Petitioner No. 2's father's name, resident of Petitioner No. 2's address, the deponent, do hereby solemnly affirm and state on oath as under:
1.That the deponent is himself Petitioner No. 2 in the present petition and as such he is fully conversant with the facts of the case deposed hereunder.
2.That the contents of the application, from paragraph 1 to paragraph 14, are correct and true to the best of my knowledge and personal belief.
Place of signing (second affidavit)(Deponent)
Date:
VERIFICATION
I, the above-named deponent, do hereby verify that the contents of paragraphs 1 and 2 of this affidavit are true to my personal knowledge. No part of it is false and nothing material has been concealed therefrom.
Signed and verified at the Type of court compound (e.g., Family Court, Civil Court) compound, Place of signing (second affidavit).
Place of signing (second affidavit)(Deponent)
Date: