• 6-Month Waiver & Demand Draft

The Facts:
Marriage Date: 11 Jan 2025 (Maharashtra, Hindu Marriage Act)
Separation Date: 20 Jan 2025 (We lived in the same house only for 9 days)
Marriage Status: Never consummated, no children, no property disputes
Settlement: Final money settlement already agreed
Current Status: In Oct 2025, we signed a paper agreeing to file divorce after 19 Jan 2026. Divorce case is now filed and counseling is ongoing.

My Questions:

1) Can I skip the 6-month waiting period?
The counselor says I must wait 18 months (12 months separation + 6 months cooling-off). I believe I only need to wait 12 months before asking for a waiver. I told the counselor about this precedent but then she said depends on judge (like Amardeep Singh v. Harveen Kaur); Is it possible to get the divorce by March 2026?

2) What should I tell my lawyer?
My lawyer has not filed the waiver application yet, even after I asked many times. He says we should wait and see what the judge says first.
We have another counseling session next week where reconciliation will again be declared not possible. Should I ask my lawyer to file the waiver application immediately after that, or now? What is the correct step?

3) Settlement payment & court process (please explain from your experience):
Since the settlement amount is fixed and signed by both parties, please explain the normal Family Court process.
Does the court first take statements of both husband and wife on oath to confirm they both want divorce, then decide on the 6-month waiting period waiver (if applied), and only after that ask about the settlement amount and tell us to hand over the Demand Draft in court, with the wife confirming she received it and the judge writing this in the order before giving divorce? Please explain process. 

4) After the wife gives her statement on oath but before she gets the Demand Draft, can she legally change her mind, refuse consent, or delay the divorce?

5) Whose name should the Demand Draft be in, and when should it be made?
My lawyer says the DD should be in the court’s name, but online legal sources say it should be in the wife’s name. Which is legally correct and safer?
If made in the court’s name, when does the wife receive the money, and is there any risk if she refuses?

6) Should the DD be prepared before the hearing or only after the judge asks in court?
After the wife gives statement on oath and receives the DD, can she still back out of consent or settlement?

7) About the papers already signed:
During counseling and case filing, wife and I signed about 15–16 pages mentioning marriage, separation, mutual consent, settlement terms, and conditions. Are these the divorce papers, and if not, at what stage are final divorce papers signed?