Allow 18 months to report marital settlements under Hindu Marriage Act: HC

Bengaluru: When a couple seeks reunion, the family court must await 18 months for the parties to report the settlement, the High Court of Karnataka has said.

A division bench comprising Justice KS Mudagal and Justice KV Aravind made the observation while instructing the parties concerned to appear before the family court in Bengaluru.

The couple, married on November 27, 2000, had filed a joint petition in the family court, seeking mutual consent divorce under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. They claimed that their marriage is irretrievably broken down and that they have been living separately since September 2021.

The family court referred the case for mediation, but with no resolution reached, the parties opted to settle the matter among themselves. The mediation centre submitted a report to the family court, saying the matter could not be settled since the parties were absent.

On August 2, 2023, the family court dismissed their petition based on the report, stating that the parties were not interested.

The couple challenged the order at the high court, arguing that the family court's observations contradicted their submissions.

The division bench observed that the trial court committed an error in dismissing the petition on its own without the request of the parties for such disposal.

"If the matter was returned from the mediation centre for non-appearance of the parties, the trial court at least should have referred the matter again to the mediation centre without dismissing the petition abruptly. The trial court has acted contrary to Section 13B (2) of the Act. Therefore, the impugned order is liable to be set aside and the matter requires to be remitted,” the court said.