SC Allows Wife To Summon Husband's Hotel And CDR Records In Adultery Case

SC Allows Wife To Summon Husband's Hotel And CDR Records In Adultery Case

The wife filed for divorce alleging cruelty and adultery, claiming her husband stayed at a Jaipur hotel with another woman between 29 April–1 May 2022. With CCTV footage already deleted, she sought hotel booking records, occupant IDs, payment details and his Call Detail Records; the Family Court allowed this in a sealed cover. The husband challenged it up to the Supreme Court, citing his right to privacy. The Court (Justices Manmohan and Vinod Chandran), citing K.S. Puttaswamy and Joseph Shine, held privacy is not absolute and must yield to a spouse's statutory right to prove adultery under Section 13(1)(i) HMA, aided by Section 14 of the Family Courts Act. Sealed-cover production balances privacy with evidentiary need; the appeal was dismissed.