‘Hindu marriage no longer an indissoluble sacrament but a contractual agreement’: Andhra Pradesh HC waives 6-month waiting period for couple seeking mutual divorce

Andhra Pradesh High Court has dissolved a marriage solemnised in 1972 between a couple who have lived separately since 1978, waiving the mandatory six-month cooling off period under the Hindu Marriage Act. The court observed that Hindu marriage has shifted from being an indissoluble sacrament to a contractual agreement, and that the waiting period cannot be used to prolong the agony of a marriage that has irretrievably broken down.