The two-motion process
A mutual consent divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act or Special Marriage Act is filed jointly by both spouses, and requires two separate court appearances (motions) rather than one. The first motion records that both parties agree to divorce; a statutory cooling-off period then follows before the second motion, at which the court can grant the decree if both spouses still confirm their consent.
How long the wait actually is
The standard cooling-off period between the two motions is six months, though courts can waive it in appropriate cases — for instance where the couple has already been separated for a long time and reconciliation is clearly not realistic. In practice, most mutual consent divorces conclude somewhere between six and eighteen months depending on the court's workload and whether the waiver is sought and granted.
What drives the cost
Court fees for a mutual consent petition are modest. The real cost is almost always the lawyer's fee, and it varies with how much needs to be settled alongside the divorce itself — alimony or maintenance, division of property, and child custody and visitation arrangements, if there are children. Where both spouses agree on all of this in advance, the legal work (and cost) is comparatively straightforward; where any of it is contested, it functions closer to a regular divorce even if it's ultimately filed as mutual consent.