Third party's call records cannot be sought to prove wife's illicit relationship: Karnataka HC
The Family Court had observed that the husband had not sought any conversation or message detail rather he had sought only tower location details of his wife's alleged lover which would not violate his privacy.
The Karnataka High Court recently quashed the order of a Family Court allowing tower locations/call records of a person, who was not a party in a matrimonial case, to be taken and produced on the plea of the husband.
The bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna said that a third party’s privacy cannot be permitted to be violated on the specious plea of a husband that he wants to prove an illicit relationship of his wife.
"A citizen has a right to safeguard the privacy of his own, his family, marriage and other incidental relationships. Informational privacy also forms an integral part of right to privacy", the court held.
Court was dealing with a plea filed by a man (alleged lover of wife) against the order of the Family Court in a matrimonial dispute between a husband and wife. The proceedings before the Family Court were initiated by the wife in 2018 for annulment of marriage on account of cruelty.
The Family court, on the plea of the husband that his wife had an illicit relationship, had summoned the tower location details of the petitioner. In its order, the family court had observed that the husband was not seeking "summoning of conversation through calls, SMS chats" but only tower location details for adjudication of the case in accordance with the law.
The person approached the high court contending that he is a third party to the proceedings and the order of the Family court violated his right to privacy.
However, the counsel for the husband argued that the husband was entitled to place his defence in the proceedings before the Family Court.
He asserted that the details as summoned by the Family Court were absolutely essential to disprove the allegation of cruelty filed by the wife as she just wanted to annul the marriage.
The single-judge bench noted that without the petitioner being in the know of any proceedings between the husband and the wife, his tower details had been allowed to be taken and produced.
Court held that in such a case permitting tower details of the petitioner would be contrary to law. "A citizen has a right to safeguard the privacy of his own, his family, marriage and other incidental relationships," court said.
Therefore, court held that the order of the Family Court undoubtedly violated informational privacy.
Case Title: Vishwas Shetty v. Preethi K Rao and Vikram Samanth