The Supreme Court on Tuesday held that the six-month wait period under the Hindu Marriage Act can be waived off in the case of mutual consent. The marriage can be legally terminated in just a week, reports stated. The apex court’s ruling comes twenty days after it invalidated instant triple talaq in a 3:2 split verdict.

The apex court ruled that the six-month wait could be done away with if all mediatory and conciliatory to efforts reunite the parties had failed. In addition, it said the waiving off can be considered if there had already been a year-long separation between the concerned parties, and differences relating to alimony, child custody or any other pending issues between them had been resolved. In such situations, a delay in proceedings will only prolong subsequent resettlement, a Times of India report stated.

“The object of the provision is to enable the parties to dissolve a marriage by consent if the marriage has irretrievably broken down and to enable them to rehabilitate them as per available options. The amendment was inspired by the thought that forcible perpetuation of status of matrimony between unwilling partners did not serve any purpose. The object of the cooling off period was to safeguard against a hurried decision if there was otherwise possibility of differences being reconciled,” a bench of Justices AK Goel and UU Lalit were quoted as saying in the Times report.

“The object was not to perpetuate a purposeless marriage,” the bench said.