In a ruling that treads the fine line between privacy and proof, the Chhattisgarh High Court has affirmed that call recordings and WhatsApp exchanges can be placed on record in a matrimonial dispute—if they are relevant to the case.
The decision came while dismissing a wife’s challenge to a family court order that permitted her husband to rely on audio conversations and WhatsApp chats in ongoing divorce proceedings. She had argued that the material was procured by hacking her phone, branding it a direct assault on her fundamental right to privacy.
Justice Sachin Singh Rajput, however, steered the discussion toward Section 14 of the Family Courts Act—a provision that grants family courts wider latitude in admitting evidence than ordinarily permitted under strict evidentiary rules. According to the Court, this flexibility exists for a reason: family disputes are, by their very nature, rooted in private spaces.
If evidence touching upon personal affairs were to be shut out merely because it intrudes into privacy, the Court observed, the very purpose of establishing family courts would be undermined. Matrimonial conflicts rarely unfold in public view; they reside in phone calls, text messages, and intimate exchanges. To insist that such material be excluded would hollow out the court’s ability to uncover the truth.
The bench made it clear that while privacy is a constitutionally recognised right, it is not impregnable. In the courtroom, the right to a fair trial carries its own weight. A party must have a fair opportunity to present material it considers necessary to substantiate its claims. The decisive test, the Court emphasised, is relevance—not the discomfort that may accompany disclosure.
With that reasoning, the appeal was dismissed, leaving the disputed recordings and chats admissible for consideration in the divorce proceedings.
The message from the bench is unmistakable: in family litigation, the search for truth may sometimes require opening doors that would otherwise remain closed.
