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The Supreme Court of India has given a landmark judgment on the admissibility of secretly recorded conversations in matrimonial disputes. Watch an exclusive analysis on this by veteran journalist Manoj Tibrewal Aakash
New Delhi: Marriage is considered a sacred bond in Indian society. But the complexities that have come in this relationship over time, the broken trust and mutual suspicion have now also raised many legal challenges. In recent years, several such cases have come to light in which the husband or wife secretly recorded each other's conversation, and presented it as evidence in the court. The question that has been raised is whether this type of recording is legally valid? Is it a violation of the right to privacy? And most importantly—can it be helpful in the judicial process?
Amidst all these debates, the Supreme Court has today given a historic decision, which will determine the future direction regarding the legal status of secretly made telephone recordings in marital disputes.
Senior journalist Manoj Tibrewal Aakash said in his show 'The MTA Speaks' that the Supreme Court clarified, even if the husband or wife has secretly recorded each other's telephone or mobile conversation, it can still be accepted as evidence in the family court. The Supreme Court says that if such a record clarifies the facts and the case is helpful in judicial trial, then that evidence should not be rejected on technical grounds.
This case is basically related to Punjab, in which a husband had filed a divorce petition against his wife in the Family Court, Bathinda. In this case, the husband had claimed that his wife used to mentally harass him and to prove this allegation, he had recorded her telephone calls. The call recording was saved in a CD and presented before the court. The Family Court accepted these recordings as evidence and on this basis started hearing the divorce petition.
But the wife challenged this order in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. She said that the call recording done without her permission is not only a violation of her right to privacy, but it is also a violation of the fundamental rights granted under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.
The High Court, accepting the arguments of the wife, overturned the decision of the Family Court and said that such recording is invalid under Section 122 of the Indian Evidence Act. According to Section 122, personal communication between husband and wife can be presented as evidence in the court only if the other party gives permission for it. The High Court said that recording a telephone conversation without consent is not only unethical, but it is also against the basic spirit of the Constitution.
The case reached the Supreme Court against this decision and today the apex court gave a completely opposite decision and clarified that such recording can be useful evidence in cases of marital disputes. The Supreme Court rejected the order of the High Court and said that if the husband or wife is secretly recording each other's conversation, then it is an indication that the state of trust in the relationship has ended, and now it is more important for the court to bring out the truth.
The Supreme Court also clarified that the procedure of the Family Court is different from that of criminal or general civil courts. Its purpose is to resolve the dispute between two persons in a fair manner, and not to give a technical decision based only on procedure. Therefore, if a recording brings out the truth of the dispute as evidence, it should not be rejected.
The court also said that while Section 122 of the Evidence Act recognizes the confidentiality of the conversations between husband and wife, it also has an exception that if the relationship between the two is no longer at a level where confidentiality can be expected, then that conversation can be presented in the court as evidence. This stance of the Supreme Court seems to strike a balance between traditional privacy versus the concept of justice.
The court, drawing a clear line between the right to privacy and the right to get justice, said that a party cannot be deprived of presenting the facts necessary to protect its rights before the court. Especially when that evidence proves any kind of harassment, cruelty or mental stress.
This decision will have far-reaching effects. According to the Supreme Court, the way has now been paved in matrimonial disputes that if a party believes that his/her spouse is guilty of mental harassment or cruelty, then he/she can present the secretly recorded conversation as evidence in the court, provided that the evidence is genuine and helpful in finding the truth.
This decision is also important because in earlier judicial interpretations, the right to privacy was considered paramount. Especially in the case of KS Puttaswamy vs. Government of India, a nine-member bench of the Supreme Court had declared privacy as a fundamental right. But in today's decision, the court made it clear that the principles of broad justice should be given priority while interpreting fundamental rights.
The Supreme Court said, "The number of matrimonial disputes is increasing rapidly in our society and the number of such cases pending in the courts is also very high. If the recordings presented as evidence in such cases help the court to reach the truth, then they cannot be rejected only on the ground that they have been made secretly." The court, however, said that while presenting such recordings in the court, it has to be ensured that they are tamper-proof, technically authenticated and payable.
The documents should be presented in a format acceptable to the spouse. This decision will set a precedent for all those couples who are facing mental harassment, betrayal or other types of torture in marital relations but do not have direct evidence to prove them. Now such parties will be able to get legal help and they will be able to put their case strongly in the court.
This decision is not only an interpretation of the law, but is also a sign of social change. It shows that the Indian judiciary is now moving beyond traditional thinking and giving decisions by understanding the ground reality. It is important to protect the right to privacy, but when it clashes with someone's right to justice, it becomes necessary to maintain a balance.
This decision will strengthen transparency, factuality and the voice of the aggrieved party within the judicial system.
