can husband and wife live separately without divorce ?

You cannot ordinarily get a decree of divorce before one year from marriage because Section 14 HMA bars petitions within one year, though the court may allow an early petition on a separate application showing exceptional hardship or exceptional depravity; see Section 14 [https://indiankanoon.org/doc/205162/]. Mutual consent divorce requires conditions in Section 13'B (living separately for one year and the cooling period) [https://www.bareactslive.com/ACA/ACT037.HTM] but courts have, in rare cases, waived the cooling period under Article 142 (see Devinder Singh Narula v. Meenakshi Nangia (2012)). [https://indiankanoon.org/doc/175336334/] If you want to file now at 10 months you must (a) file a separate Section 14 application with evidence of exceptional hardship/depravity (Orissa HC recently stressed this procedural requirement in Debabrata Debadarsan Palei v. Subhakanti Patra (2025)), [https://courtbook.in/posts/orissa-high-court-clarifies-separate-application-must-be-filed-to-seek-divorce-before-one-year-of-marriage-under-section-14-hma] or (b) wait until one year and then file (mutual or contested) under Section 13 (grounds such as cruelty, adultery, desertion'desertion ordinarily requires two years). [https://www.bareactslive.com/ACA/ACT037.HTM] You may legally live separately without divorcing by (i) seeking judicial separation under Section 10 HMA (decree ends obligation to cohabit) [https://indiankanoon.org/doc/888857/], or (ii) as a Hindu wife claiming separate residence and maintenance under Section 18 HAMA where cruelty/desertion/other listed grounds exist (living apart does not automatically forfeit maintenance). [https://indiankanoon.org/doc/19523607/] For proof of cruelty/long separation as a ground for relief, see Samar Ghosh v. Jaya Ghosh (2007) on mental cruelty and long separation. [https://indiankanoon.org/doc/766894/]