The short answer: a mutual consent divorce (आपसी सहमति से तलाक) in Delhi usually takes six to eight months from filing to decree, because section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act builds in a six-month gap between the first and second motion. That gap is no longer compulsory. Since the Supreme Court’s decision in Amardeep Singh v. Harveen Kaur (2017), a Family Court can waive it where the couple have already been apart for over eighteen months, mediation has failed and every issue is settled — in which case the whole process can finish in one to three months. What follows is the process step by step, the realistic timeline at each stage, and exactly what a court looks for before it agrees to shorten the wait.
What the law actually requires
Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 allows both spouses to file one joint petition for divorce if three things are true: they have been living separately for one year or more, they have not been able to live together, and they have mutually agreed that the marriage should be dissolved. “Living separately” means not living as husband and wife; couples under the same roof who have lived apart in every real sense have been held to satisfy it, if the petition explains it clearly.
Section 13B(2) then sets out the two-motion structure. After the petition is filed, the parties move the first motion and record their statements. The second motion can be moved “not earlier than six months” after the first and “not later than eighteen months” after it. At the second motion the court hears both parties, satisfies itself that the marriage was solemnised and that the averments in the petition are true, and passes the decree.
Section 28 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954 has the same structure, and the waiver principles below apply to it in the same way.
Step by step, with realistic timelines
1. Settlement first (before anything is filed). A mutual consent petition only works if everything between the two of you is already agreed: permanent alimony or a one-time settlement (गुज़ारा भत्ता / एकमुश्त समझौता), return of stridhan and joint property, custody and visitation if there are children, and withdrawal of any pending cases between the families. Reduce this to a written memorandum of understanding. This is the stage that takes longest in real life — anything from a week to several months — and where most petitions that later go wrong went wrong.
2. Drafting and filing the joint petition. The petition sets out the marriage, the date of separation, the fact that reconciliation has failed, and the settlement terms, supported by affidavits from both spouses. Delhi’s district courts accept e-filing. From the day both spouses sign, filing and the first listing usually take one to three weeks.
3. The first motion. On the listed date both spouses appear before the Family Court and their statements are recorded on oath — that the petition is filed voluntarily, that the terms are agreed, and that there is no coercion. Some Family Courts in Delhi refer the couple to the court’s mediation centre before or at this stage to confirm that reconciliation is genuinely off the table; that can add two to six weeks. Any part of the settlement that is due at the first motion (typically a first instalment of the agreed amount) is paid in court or recorded as paid.
4. The cooling period. This is the six-month wait. Its purpose is to let either spouse reconsider. It runs from the date of the first motion, not from filing.
5. Application to waive the six months (where it applies). If the conditions set out in the next section are met, an application under section 13B(2) can be moved — commonly about a week after the first motion — asking the court to dispense with the balance of the period. The court decides this on the facts; it is not automatic.
6. The second motion and the decree. After six months (or once the waiver is allowed), the second motion is listed. Both spouses appear again and confirm on oath that they still consent. The balance of the settlement is paid or recorded. The court then passes the decree of divorce. The decree is typically available for collection within a week or two of the order.
Put together: six to eight months end to end where the cooling period runs in full, and one to three months where it is waived, with the variation coming almost entirely from listing dates and whether mediation is directed.
When the six-month wait can be waived
In Amardeep Singh v. Harveen Kaur (2017) the Supreme Court settled a long-running split between High Courts and held that the six-month period in section 13B(2) is directory, not mandatory — a court may waive it where keeping the parties waiting serves no purpose. The Court set out what a Family Court should look at:
- The statutory one year of separation under section 13B(1) and the six months under section 13B(2) — eighteen months in total — were already over before the first motion was moved.
- Efforts at mediation or conciliation, including any referral by the court itself, have been made and have failed, and there is no realistic chance of reunion.
- The parties have genuinely settled every difference between them — alimony, custody of children, and any other pending matter.
- The waiting period would only prolong their agony.
The application can be filed a week after the first motion. Family Courts in Delhi apply this decision routinely, but it is a discretion, not a right: if the separation is shorter than eighteen months, or the court is not convinced the settlement is complete and voluntary, the wait stays.
One caution: in Shilpa Sailesh v. Varun Sreenivasan (2023) the Supreme Court held that it can itself dissolve a marriage under Article 142 of the Constitution and dispense with the period entirely, but that power is the Supreme Court’s alone. A Family Court in Delhi works within Amardeep Singh, and no advocate can promise a particular timeline — what we can do is put every one of those conditions on the record with documents behind them.
Consent can be withdrawn — and that changes everything
A mutual consent divorce depends on both spouses still agreeing at the second motion. The Supreme Court held in Sureshta Devi v. Om Prakash (1991) that the consent given at filing must continue until the decree; either spouse can withdraw it before then, and once it is withdrawn the court cannot pass a decree under section 13B.
This is why the settlement memorandum matters so much, and why payments are usually staged across the two motions rather than made up front. If you are the spouse who has paid or given up something in reliance on the other’s consent, the terms should say what happens if consent is withdrawn — the memorandum can be enforced separately, but the divorce itself cannot.
If the second motion is never moved within eighteen months of the first, the petition does not proceed and the couple would in practice file afresh.
Documents to bring
- Marriage certificate, or where there is none, the wedding invitation card and photographs
- Proof of identity and current address for both spouses
- Proof of separate residence since the date of separation — rent agreement, utility bills, employer letters
- The signed settlement memorandum and, if relevant, income documents supporting the alimony figure
- Birth certificates of any children and the agreed custody and visitation arrangement
- Passport-size photographs, and the court fee and affidavit stamp papers
- Details of any pending cases between the spouses or their families that are to be withdrawn
Which Family Court in Delhi
Under section 19 of the Hindu Marriage Act the petition can be filed where the marriage was solemnised, where the couple last lived together, or where either spouse now lives, which gives most Delhi couples a choice. The Family Courts sit at Saket (South and South East Delhi), Dwarka (South West), Tis Hazari (Central, North and West), Rohini (West and North West), Patiala House (New Delhi) and Karkardooma (East and North East).
Our advocates appear in the Family Courts at each of these complexes, with a chamber at Saket, an office at Dwarka and an office opposite Rohini Court. Getting the settlement right is what decides whether the timeline above is six months or six weeks. Start with the divorce lawyer at Saket Court page for South Delhi, or the pages for Dwarka, Tis Hazari and Rohini, and call 99115 44811 to speak to the firm.
This article explains the general procedure for mutual consent divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act and does not constitute legal advice on any particular marriage. Timelines are indicative and depend on the court’s listing and the facts of each case.