MP High Court Allows Husband to Submit Wife’s WhatsApp Chats as Evidence in Divorce Case
MP High Court Allows Husband to Submit Wife’s WhatsApp Chats as Evidence in Divorce Case Author: Abhishek Jat, Advocate The Madhya Pradesh High Court at Gwalior, in a recent order, addressed the admissibility of WhatsApp chats obtained without consent in a matrimonial dispute. The case arose when Raman Upadhyay, the husband, filed for divorce from Smt. Anjali Sharma on grounds of cruelty and adultery under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. To substantiate the allegation of adultery, the husband produced WhatsApp conversations between his wife and a third party. These chats were accessed through a special application installed on the wife’s phone, which automatically forwarded her messages to the husband’s device, allegedly without her knowledge or consent. The wife, Smt. Anjali Sharma, strongly objected to the use of these chats as evidence. She argued that the husband’s act of installing the application without her consent was not only illegal but also a grave infringement o...