SC Allows Secret Call Recordings As Evidence In Matrimonial Cases

The Supreme Court on Monday said that secretly recorded conversations between spouses can be used as evidence in matrimonial cases. The court asserted that the snooping between the couple is enough to determine that the marriage is not going strong and can be used in court proceedings, PTI reported. 

The apex court overturned the Punjab and Haryana High court’s ruling that the secret conversations between spouses are protected under Section 122 of the Evidence Act and cannot be used in judicial proceedings. 

A bench comprising Justice B V Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma restored the original court order of a family court in Bathinda that had allowed the husband to present a compact disc containing phone call recordings with his wife as evidence to support his claim of cruelty. The wife challenged this in the high court, arguing that the recordings were made without her knowledge or consent and violated her fundamental right to privacy.

The High court had earlier held that recording the wife’s telephonic conversations without her knowledge was a clear breach of her fundamental right to privacy. 

"If the marriage has reached a stage where spouses are actively snooping on each other, that is in itself a symptom of a broken relationship and denotes a lack of trust between them," the Supreme court bench said. 

"We do not think there is any breach of privacy in this case. In fact, Section 122 of Evidence Act does not recognise any such right. On the other hand, it carves out an exception to right to privacy between spouses and therefore cannot be applied horizontally at all,” it added. 

The court has not yet released a detailed judgement in the matter.