HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD LUCKNOW FIRST APPEAL No. - 157 of 2025 Court No. - 2 HON'BLE MRS. SANGEETA CHANDRA, J. HON'BLE AMITABH KUMAR RAI, J. 1. Heard Ms. Shafa Fatima, learned counsel for the appellant and Sri Ashish Shukla, learned counsel for the respondent. 2. The instant first appeal, under Section 19(1) of the Family Courts Act, 1984, has been filed by the appellant against the order dated 07.08.2025 passed by the Additional Principal Judge, Family Court, Court No. 2, Unnao, in Case No. 846 of 2025, under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act (Apoorva vs. Pushkar), whereby the application of the appellant was rejected and she was directed to appear before the Court on the date fixed, i.e., 02.01.2026. 3. Learned counsel for the appellant has argued that the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Amardeep Singh v. Harveen Kaur, (2017) 8 SCC 746 has observed that the cooling-off period of six months under Section 13B(2) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 is directory and not mandatory. The Court must examine whether there is any chance of reconciliation between the parties and whether they have genuinely settled their differences. If so, the Court may waive the cooling-off period in order to do complete justice. 4. It has further been argued by learned counsel for the appellant that the appellant was married to the respondent on 22.04.2022. However, soon after the marriage, the relationship soured and the appellant started living with her parents w.e.f. 15.02.2024. With the help of family members and well-wishers, both the appellant and the Versus Counsel for Appellant(s) : Arshad Siddiqui, Devanshu Pratap Singh Counsel for Respondent(s) : Ashish Shukla, Gaurav Mishra Smt. Apoorva Pandey .....Appellant(s) Shri Pushkar Pandey .....Respondent(s) respondent decided to end their marriage. An alimony amount of Rs. 4,50,000/- was mutually agreed upon, which the respondent is willing to pay to the appellant. 5. An application under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, was filed jointly by both parties on 01.07.2025. In a routine manner, the next date for hearing was fixed as 02.01.2026. Thereafter, an application was moved on 07.08.2025 seeking waiver of the cooling- off period, on the ground that both parties had already settled all their differences and desired to be relieved of their marital obligations. 6. Learned counsel for the appellant has submitted that the learned Court below adopted a hyper-technical approach by holding that the application was not signed by both the applicants and that the contents of the application did not explicitly state that the differences had been finally and fully resolved. The application of the appellant was rejected without correctly appreciating the judgment rendered in Amardeep Singh (supra). 7. Learned counsel for the respondent has not disputed the arguments raised by learned counsel for the appellant. He states that the respondent is ready and willing to pay Rs. 4,50,000/- by way of Demand Draft on the date of the second motion, whenever this Court pleases to fix the same. He further submits that, since the family members and well-wishers of both parties have intervened and the matter has been amicably settled, there was no necessity of undergoing Court-appointed mediation proceedings. 8. We find that since the appellant has been living separately from the respondent since 15.02.2024 and the application under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 was filed by parties only on 01.07.2025, i.e., more than 16 months after separation and as both the parties have agreed to the terms and conditions of their separation, it would be appropriate to waive the cooling-off period as required under the statute, in terms of the law laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Amardeep Singh (supra). 9. Consequently, we set aside the order dated 07.08.2025 and remit the matter back to the Additional Principal Judge, Family Court, Unnao, to decide the application dated 07.08.2025 afresh. We find it FAPL No. 157 of 2025 2 appropriate to fix a date for disposal of the said application. Accordingly, we direct that the parties shall appear before the Additional Principal Judge, Family Court, Court No. 2, Unnao, on 03.11.2025. The respondent shall hand over the Demand Draft of Rs. 4,50,000/- to the appellant in Court on the said date. 10. This appeal stands disposed of accordingly. October 13, 2025 Ashish Dewal FAPL No. 157 of 2025 3 (Amitabh Kumar Rai,J.) (Mrs. Sangeeta Chandra,J.) Digitally signed by :- ASHISH DEWAL High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench