(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act and to the rules made thereunder, a petition for divorce may be presented to the district Court by both the parties together on the ground that they have been living separately for a period of one year or more, that they have not been able to live together and that they have mutually agreed that the marriage should be dissolved.
(2) On the motion of both the parties made not earlier than six months after the date of the presentation of the petition referred to in sub-section (1) and not later than eighteen months after the said date, if the petition is not withdrawn in the meantime, the district Court shall, on being satisfied, after hearing the parties and after making such inquiry as it thinks fit, that a marriage has been solemnized under this Act and that the averments in the petition are true, pass a decree declaring the marriage to be dissolved with effect from the date of the decree.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 28
Section 28 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954 provides the statutory framework for divorce by mutual consent.
The six-month statutory cooling-off period was enacted to encourage second thoughts and reconciliation.
Section 28 is the primary mechanism for amicable marital dissolution under the SMA. In drafting mutual consent petitions, parties execute comprehensive Memoranda of Understanding resolving permanent alimony, return of stridhan, child custody, and withdrawal of pending criminal or civil cases, enabling Family Courts to waive the cooling-off period under the Amardeep Singh doctrine.