Yes. A mutual consent divorce under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 involves two stages—first motion and second motion. During the first motion, both parties file a joint petition stating they have been living separately for over a year and wished to end the marriage mutually. After this, the law provides a six-month cooling-off period (which may be waived under some conditions), after which they must appear again before the court for the second motion to confirm that they still wish to proceed.
If either spouse withdraws their consent at any time before or at the second motion, then the court cannot grant the divorce, because mutual consent must exist at both stages. This means that even if both parties had earlier agreed and filed the petition, a change of mind by one spouse will stop the divorce from being finalized. This principle was upheld by the Supreme Court in Sureshta Devi v. Om Prakash (1991), where it was clarified that either party is free to withdraw consent at any time before the decree is passed. This ensures that no one is forced into divorce against their will. In such a situation, the spouse who still wants the divorce will have to explore contested divorce options under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act. If the refusal to proceed is being used in a manipulative or coercive manner—such as extortion or emotional pressure—courts have sometimes treated this behavior as mental cruelty, which itself may become a valid ground for a contested divorce.