Secretly Recorded Phone Calls Of Spouse Admissible As Evidence In Matrimonial Cases: Supreme Court
The Supreme Court recently held that a spouse can use audio recordings of phone conversations with their partner as admissible evidence in matrimonial cases, including divorce proceedings.
The Supreme Court overturned a 2021 Punjab & Haryana High Court ruling that declared recording a wife's phone conversations without her knowledge was a "clear breach" of her fundamental right to privacy and inadmissible in Family Court proceedings.
The family court had allowed the recordings under Sections 14 and 20 of the Family Courts Act, but the High Court ruled they violated the wife's right to privacy. The Supreme Court held such evidence can be admissible in matrimonial disputes.
The Bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma staed, “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 said snooping cannot be said to be a consequence of the Court admitting the evidence obtained by snooping. In fact, snooping between partners is an effect and not a cause of marital disharmony. The privacy of communication exists between spouses, as has been recognised by Section 122, but the said right of privacy cannot be absolute and has to be read also in light of the exception provided in Section 122 of the Evidence Act.”
"The three-fold test of relevance, identification and accuracy has to be satisfied before a Court admits a recorded conversation in evidence. However, the fact that the conversation was recorded without the consent and knowledge of the person speaking is not a prohibition on the admissibility of the evidence, as laid down by the Evidence Act and read into the statutory provisions by this Court." the Court said.
The Supreme Court reinstated the Family Court’s 2020 decision allowing the husband to submit a supplementary affidavit, memory cards, CD, and transcripts of recorded conversations as evidence in a divorce case. The Family Court was directed to admit and consider this material in accordance with the law. The appeal was allowed.
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