In a rare case, a Family Court recently allowed a couple, married for 25 years, to divorce through mutual consent, without waiting for the compulsory 6-month cooling-off period.

The couple, parents to 2 adults, had been living separately since 2014 & filed for divorce in Sept 2019. With the waiving-off of the 6-month period, the divorce came through in 3 months. 

Granting their petition, the Court said, "The parties have stated on oath that there is no dispute about giving or taking of streedhan articles. They have no claim of maintenance or property of whatsoever nature against each other. The statutory period of six months is waived off."

Lawyer Nazim Hashim Yete who represented the former couple said that after the petition for divorce through mutual consent was filed, the 46-year-old husband came across a job opportunity abroad.

Yete submitted in Court that the husband would get a longer contract with the company, provided there were no dependants on him & at his age, he didn't want to lose the opportunity. The last date to apply for the job was Jan 20.

With the next Court date for the divorce petition only in March, the husband moved a petition to waive off the balance 3 months.

Advocate Yete added that "We immediately moved the Court & stressed on the importance of waving off the cooling-off period of three months which was balance in this case".

The Court also took into account the fact that the couple were separated for over a year. The Court said that the couple had been referred to a marriage counsellor. The counsellor reported to the Court that there was no possibility of a reunion between the couple.

The Court said that "This fact confirms that they have mutually agreed to dissolve their marriage & there is no possibility of reunion".

The former couple was married under the Special Marriage Act. They had submitted that for the past decade they had several quarrels & subsequently decided to separate. They further submitted that their marriage had broken down irretrievably & it was impossible for them to stay together.

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