Wife Sending Nude Photos To Another Man Not Expected In Indian Society: MP High Court Upholds Divorce On Ground Of Adultery

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has affirmed a Family Court order granting divorce to a husband after it was established that his wife was engaged in an illicit relationship with another man. The bench of Justice Vishal Dhagat and Justice BP Sharma observed,"Considering the totality of the facts and evidence especially the nude photographs, emails, chats, SMS messages, and other circumstances it is not expected in Indian society that a wife would take nude photographs of herself, send them to another man electronically, request him to show his private parts during a video call, and herself view his private parts in return... In such circumstances, the only conclusion that can be drawn is that after marriage, the appellant/wife maintained an illicit relationship with respondent No. 2, disregarding the basic principles of the institution of marriage". An appeal was filed by the wife challenging the judgment of the Family Court, wherein the husband's plea seeking dissolution of marriage under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act on grounds of cruelty and adultery was allowed, and the wife's application seeking restitution of conjugal rights was dismissed. The Family Court had also awarded the maintenance of ₹5,000 per month to the minor son, ₹3,00,000 as stridhan to the wife. Aggrieved, she filed an appeal challenging the findings of adultery and the quantum of stridhan.Per the facts, the couple was married on November 20, 2009, according to Hindu rites and had a son in 2010. However, they started residing separately in April 2012, and then in June 2012, the husband filed a civil suit seeking divorce. During the pendency of the suit, the wife initiated multiple proceedings, including an FIR for demanding dowry, an application seeking maintenance under Section 125 CrPC, seeking conjugal rights under Section 9 and proceedings under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act. Counsel for the applicant argued that the Family Court's holding that the charges were proved was based on electronic evidence derived from the keylogger software installed by the husband on the computer system. Further, the chats and emails relied on by the Family Court were 'forwarded messages' capable of being manipulated. Additionally, the requirement of a certificate under Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act was not satisfied. The counsel for the respondents claimed that the wife did not raise any objections to the mode of proof during the trial and was therefore estopped from challenging the admissibility of said chats and emails. The counsel for the husband further claimed that he was subjected to grave mental cruelty by the wife by lodging multiple false and frivolous criminal and quasi-criminal proceedings, which all ended in dismissal. The bench noted the two issues that needed consideration: a) whether the electronic material upon which the trial court relied was properly admissible and, if admissible, whether it was of such demonstrable authenticity and integrity that a finding of adultery could legitimately be based upon it?b) whether the trial court's overall evaluation of the evidence which are the oral testimony, documentary exhibits, circumstances and inferences, is such that this Court should interfere on appellate scrutiny by either reversing the findings or setting aside the decree?The bench noted the chief examination of the wife, wherein she stated that the electronic evidence was tainted because it was fabricated by installing a keylogger on the relevant computer, and because the husband was a software professional having technical competence and access necessary to manipulate files. The court acknowledged that these allegations raised legitimate concerns about both legality and reliability. However, it noted that such objections cannot be sustained in proceedings before the Family Court as it was not rigidly bound by the rules of admissibility under the Indian Evidence Act. It further emphasized,"Section 14 of the Family Courts Act, 1984 expressly empowers the Family Court to receive and act upon any report, statement, document, information or material which, in its opinion, may assist it in effectively adjudicating the dispute between the parties, irrespective of whether such material would otherwise be admissible under the Evidence Act". Therefore, the bench held that the photographs, chats and other material produced by the husband could not be disregarded on technical objections. The court further rejected the argument of the wife that the evidence of the expert was not credible, solely because he was a friend of the husband. Referring to the Supreme Court case of NG Dastane v S Dastane [1975 2 SCC 326], the court reiterated that in matrimonial disputes, the standard of proof is preponderance of probabilities and not proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Further, the bench noted that in family matters with adultery allegations are usually proved through circumstantial evidence, surrounding conduct, opportunity ...

Wife Sending Nude Photos To Another Man Not Expected In Indian Society: MP High Court Upholds Divorce On Ground Of Adultery

Jayanti Pahwa

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