Divorce Law Videos - What can I do if husband is delaying second motion of mutual divorce?

A Divorce with mutual consent is one of the quickest way to obtain a divorce in India, wherein a timeline of around 7-8 months should be enough to obtain a decree of divorce from the court when both parties are cooperating and adamant to obtain a divorce. If a couple mutually decides on amicable grounds that they cannot live together and want a divorce, then for the very same they can file a petition for divorce. The essential requirement to obtain a divorce under this section is that the couple should have been married for atleast an year preceding to the presentation of the petition of the divorce.

Sec 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act provides for a divorce when the both the parties agree to it on amicable grounds. For the same the parties can jointly move a petition for dissolution of marriage by a decree of divorce in the District Court on the ground that they have been living separately for a period of one year or more and also that they have not been able to live together and that they have mutually decided that the marriage should be dissolved. The Court shall then record the joint statement of the parties and pass a First Motion order giving time of 6 months to the parties to resolve their dispute. After that a 2nd motion of divorce is called for, which is after the expiry of those 6 months after the first motion where the statement of both the parties is recorded and after this process is complete. Judge is satisfied of the consent of both for divorce all issues like custody of child if any, permanent alimony and maintenance, issue relating to return of stridhan of the wife and settlement of jointly owned properties, divorce is granted. 
 
There are chances when the couple appears for the first motion of divorce and the very same is passed, when the time for filing the second motion arrives, one party may change their mind and try to delay the second motion of divorce, in such a case the party that still wants the divorce has no real options as such because divorce cannot be obtained by coercion, so the party that still wants a divorce can either convince the other party to appear for the second motion or wait for the expiry of one year from the expiry of the cooling period and after that file a fresh petition for divorce without mutual consent on one of the 10 grounds mentioned in the Hindu Marriage Act.