|Bombay High Court
Section 14 Hindu Marriage Act | Bombay HC Mandates Consideration of Delhi HC Full Bench Factors for Waiving One-Year Waiting Period in Mutual Consent Divorce : Bombay HC Nagpur Bench
The Bombay High Court has directed the Family Court to reconsider a petition for mutual consent divorce filed before one year of marriage, emphasizing that Section 14 applications must be decided by applying the specific factors outlined in the Delhi High Court’s Full Bench judgment, not just the cooling-off period precedent. This clarifies that judicial discretion under Section 14 requires a fact-specific analysis of hardship, not a mechanical application of precedent, impacting couples seeking early divorce on grounds of irretrievable breakdown.