Top court: Secretly recorded calls admissible in marital disputes

SC SET ASIDE A 2021 PUNJAB & HARYANA HC VERDICT THAT BARRED A BATHINDA MAN FROM USING A CD CONTAINING CONVERSATIONS WITH HIS ESTRANGED WIFE, RECORDED SANS HER KNOWLEDGE

- Utkarsh Anand

The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that a spouse may rely on secretly recorded telephonic conversations with the other partner in matrimonial disputes, including divorce proceedings, because such communications are not barred under the law and do not amount to a breach of privacy.

In a significant ruling that reshapes the contours of privacy and evidence within marriage, a bench of justices BV Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma set aside a 2021 judgment of the Punjab and Haryana high court, which had barred a husband from using a compact disc (CD) or a memory card containing conversations with his estranged wife, recorded without her knowledge.

The court relied on section 122 of the Indian Evidence Act, which bars disclosure of marital communications by one spouse without the other's consent. However, the same provision contains an exception when such communication is brought forth during legal proceedings between the spouses. To be sure, section 122 of the Evidence ‘Act has been replaced by section 121 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023.