Supreme Court Rules on Admissibility of Secretly Recorded Conversations in Divorce Cases

Supreme Court's Landmark Decision

On Monday, the Supreme Court determined that secretly recorded phone conversations between spouses can be utilized as evidence in divorce cases, as reported by a legal news outlet.

A panel comprising Justices BV Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma overturned a ruling from the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which had supported a woman's argument that her husband's unauthorized recording of their conversation should not be admissible in their divorce proceedings.

The High Court had deemed the husband's actions a significant violation of the woman's privacy rights.

During the session, the Supreme Court remarked that if a marriage has deteriorated to the point where partners are 'actively snooping' on one another, it reflects a 'broken relationship' and a fundamental lack of trust.

The court stated, 'We do not find the argument against admissibility to be valid.'

Additionally, the bench dismissed concerns that allowing such evidence might promote snooping among spouses, according to the legal news outlet.

Previously, a family court in Bathinda had permitted the husband to present recorded conversations with his wife to substantiate claims of cruelty.

The wife contested this decision in the High Court, asserting that the recordings were made without her approval and infringed upon her fundamental privacy rights.