Under Section 13B(1) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, for how long must the parties have been living separately before they can file a joint petition for divorce by mutual consent?

Section 13B was inserted into the Hindu Marriage Act on 27th May 1976 to introduce divorce by mutual consent, and Section 13B(1) requires that both parties have been living separately for at least one year, are unable to live together, and have mutually agreed the marriage should be dissolved. After filing this first motion, Section 13B(2) imposes a further "cooling off period," barring the court from granting the divorce decree before six months but requiring it within eighteen months of the petition's presentation, unless withdrawn. Notably, the Supreme Court in Amardeep Singh v. Harveen Kaur (2017) clarified that this six-month cooling-off period is directory, not mandatory, and can be waived if genuine settlement has been reached on issues like alimony and child custody. Building on this, a Full Bench of the Delhi High Court in 2025 went further, ruling that even the one-year separation requirement under Section 13B(1) can be waived in cases of exceptional hardship or depravity. This evolving judicial interpretation reflects a broader trend toward reducing unnecessary delays in matrimonial litigation while still protecting parties from hasty or coerced settlements.