The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday made important comments about confidence in marriage cases. The court said that the debate in such cases can be accepted in the court as evidence in the court.
Dismissing the decision of the Punjab-Haryana High Court, a bench of Justice BV Nagratna and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma said that the husband and wife keeping an eye on each other is evidence that the marriage is not going on. Therefore, recording can be used in judicial proceedings.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court had said in its judgment that the secret conversation between the husband and wife is preserved under Section 122 of the Evidence Act and cannot be used in judicial proceedings. The bench restored the lower court order and said that the conversation recorded during the marital proceedings could be noted. The Supreme Court asked to pursue the case after taking judicial cognizance of the conversation recorded by the Family Court.
The Supreme Court said that recording each other’s conversation by husband and wife is a proof in itself that their marriage is not going strong and hence it can be used in judicial proceedings. Justice BV Nagratna said that if the marriage has reached the point that the husband and wife are actively monitoring each other, then it is a symptom of a broken relationship in itself and reflects the lack of trust between them.
Family court had accepted evidence
A family court in Bathinda, in his judgment, allowed the husband to use a compact disk recording a phone call with his wife in support of cruelty claims. The wife challenged it in the High Court and argued that the recording was done without her knowledge or consent and this is a violation of the fundamental right to her privacy.
High court rejected the decision
The High Court accepted the wife’s petition and termed the evidence as unacceptable, saying that secret recording is a clear violation of privacy and legally unfair. The High Court had said that some arguments have been made that allowing domestic harmony and marital relations will be in danger as it would promote espionage on husband and wife. This will violate the purpose of Section 122 of the Evidence Act.
