Delhi HC issues Landmark Guidelines to protect Right to Privacy in Family Matters [Read the Judgment]

Hearing an appeal under the Family Courts Act, the Division Bench of the Delhi High Court has said that “lawyers are expected to act with professional responsibility in cases that involve disclosure of private and personal information. The Division Bench of Justice Murlidhar and Justice I.S. Mehta gave multiple directions in the judgment including, “Where a party in a case seeks to rely upon a document which in his or her assessment or the assessment of the party's lawyer is of a sensitive nature, viz., which contains details of a personal or private nature concerning a party or a person or their conduct, which when disclosed is likely to affect the right to privacy, or cause embarrassment, then such party and/or the lawyer of such party will first apply to the Court seeking leave to produce such document in a sealed cover.”The Court added, “Till such time that leave is granted the contents of the said document shall not be extracted in the pleadings or a copy of the whole or part thereof enclosed with the petition. For this purpose a document would include any writing, private letters, notings, photographs, and documents in electronic form including video clips, text messages, chat details, emails, printed copies thereof, CCTV footage etc.”Laying down the guidelines for the lower Courts, the High Court said that if a Court comes across such material, it should “pass appropriate orders concerning the said document including providing copies thereof to the parties, preserving the originals or copies as the case may be in a sealed cover, de-sealing for being produced during Court proceedings and re-sealing after the purpose for which they are directed to be produced is over.” It added that, “The Family Court will also bind down by specific directions, the parties and their respective lawyers, and the Court staff regarding the making of copies, use, preservation and dissemination of such document with a view to maintaining its confidentiality. The Family Court can also pass necessary directions to specify the conditions upon which access would be permitted to such document by third parties.”Asking the Courts to respect the privacy of the parties, the High Court asked the courts in future to take aid of the guidelines, specifically mentioning that they are not strict in nature and can be interpreted as per facts and circumstances. It also ordered, “The Family Court should as far as possible and practicable invoke the power under Section 11 of the Family Courts Act 1984 and hold the proceedings in camera. Where the circumstances so warrant, the Family Court may in the orders uploaded on the website or made available otherwise, suitably anonymize the names of the parties.”Making an important observation regarding impact of litigation on the minds of children, the Court observed, “Unless there is a specific order of the Family Court, or where the party thinks it to be absolutely essential, or where suitable alternative arrangements are unable to be made, parties should avoid bringing children to the Family Court on a routine basis. Lawyers should also advise their clients in this regard since repeated visits to Courts to witness the legal contests between and among parents and relatives is not desirable or conducive for the healthy development of children.”The High Court made these observations while hearing an appeal relating to visitation rights and custody over children. The High Court said, “Having now come across a number of cases of matrimonial and custody disputes, in the civil and criminal jurisdictions, the Court notes with concern that there a growing trend among parties and their lawyers to readily disclose in the petitions, in the form of pleadings and documents, the most private and personal details of their clients and of the opposite parties, without a thought for the privacy implications, or even embarrassment potential, that it has.” Thereafter, the Division Bench proceeded to lay down the guidelines relating to submission of documents of personal nature.The Court issued the following guidelines;(i) Where a party in a case seeks to rely upon a document which in his or her assessment or the assessment of the party's lawyer is of a sensitive nature, viz., which contains details of a personal or private nature concerning a party or a person or their conduct, which when disclosed is likely to affect the right to privacy, or cause embarrassment, then such party and/or the lawyer of such party will first apply to the Court seeking leave to produce such document in a sealed cover. Till such time that leave is granted the contents of the said document shall not be extracted in the pleadings or a copy of the whole or part thereof enclosed with the petition. For this purpose a document would include any writing, private...

Delhi HC issues Landmark Guidelines to protect Right to Privacy in Family Matters [Read the Judgment]

Gaurav Pathak

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