Mutual Incompatibility Not Ground To Dissolve Hindu Marriage Within 1 Year Unless There Is 'Exceptional Hardship': Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has held that marriage between two Hindus cannot be dissolved within one year of marriage on grounds of mutual incompatibility, unless there is exceptional hardship or exception depravity as provided under Section 14 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.

The parties had filed for mutual dissolution of marriage under Section 13-B of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. However, the same was rejected by the Principal Judge, Family Court, Saharanpur on grounds that minimum period for moving the application as provided under Section 14 of the Act, had not elapsed.

The division bench of Justice Ashwini Kumar Mishra and Justice Donadi Ramesh noted that Section 14 provides for a one year limitation from the date of marriage to file for divorce with the exception that such petition can be entertained if there is exceptional hardship or exception depravity.

It was observed in the present matter, except the routine ground for mutual incompatibility, no exceptional circumstance was shown to exist to allow parties to file for divorce within one year of marriage.

It said that application showed "no exceptional hardship or exceptional depravity" so as to invoke jurisdiction under the proviso to Section 14 of the Act. 

The Court held that divorce petition can be rejected where no exceptional circumstance or exceptional depravity has been shown to invoke the proviso to Section 14 of the Act.

It said:

“The provision contained under Section 14 of the Act has a laudable object to subserve, inasmuch as the legislature has put an embargo in entertaining an application for dissolution of marriage, within one year for specific performance. Marriage between two Hindus is sacrosanct and its dissolution would be permissible only for the reasons permissible in law. On routine grounds of mutual incompatibility between the parties, it would not be open for the parties to seek exemption from one year limitation in filing such petition.”

Accordingly, the court dismissed the appeal against the order of the Family Court leaving it open for the parties to move a fresh application after expiry of 1 year period.

Case Title: Sri Nishant Bhardwaj v. Smt. Rishika Gautam [FIRST APPEAL DEFECTIVE No. - 12 of 2025]

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