WhatsApp Chats Alone Insufficient to Establish Matrimonial Cruelty: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court held that matrimonial cruelty cannot be established solely based on WhatsApp chats.

The Court set aside a Family Court’s ex parte divorce decree that had relied mainly on WhatsApp and SMS exchanges to conclude that the wife subjected the husband to mental cruelty.

It observed that electronic messages must be properly proved through evidence, and the opposite party must be allowed to challenge or rebut the material.

Since the wife was not given such an opportunity, the Court remanded the matter to the Family Court for fresh adjudication after allowing both parties to lead evidence.

[Supriya Gaurav Devare nee Supriya Raosaheb Patil v. Gaurav Jitendra Patil]