Recording wife's telephonic conversation without her knowledge is infringement of privacy: HC
Chandigarh (PTI): Recording of wife's telephonic conversation without her knowledge is infringement of her privacy, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has observed.
The court of Justice Lisa Gill passed the order last month on a plea filed by a woman who challenged a 2020 order of the Bathinda family court.
The Bathinda family court had allowed the woman's estranged husband to prove a CD pertaining to recorded conversations between him and his wife subject to the condition of its correctness.
"Recording of telephonic conversation of the wife without her knowledge is a clear cut infringement of her privacy," observed the high court.
"Furthermore, it cannot be said or ascertained as to the circumstances in which the conversations were held or the manner in which response elicited by a person, who was recording the conversations, because it is evident that these conversations would necessarily have been recorded surreptitiously by one of the parties," it further observed.
The husband had submitted a petition in 2017 seeking a divorce from the woman. Their marriage was solemnised in 2009 and the couple had a daughter together.
During cross-examination, an application was moved by the husband in July, 2019, seeking permission to submit his supplementary affidavit by way of examination-in-chief along with the CD and transcripts of conversations recorded in memory card or chip of the mobile phone.
In 2020, the family court allowed the husband to prove the CD subject to the condition of correctness and also observed that strict principles of evidence were not applicable to the proceedings before it, keeping in view Section 14 and 20 of the Family Court Act. Thereafter, the wife approached the high court.
The counsel for the wife argued that the evidence sought to be led by the husband is completely beyond pleadings, therefore, absolutely impermissible. It was contended that the pleadings do not refer to any such conversations which are sought to be proved.
"Therefore, this evidence has been wrongly accepted. Furthermore, the said CDs are a clear-cut infringement and downright invasion of the wife's privacy, thus, a violation of Article 21 of the Constitution of India, as the conversations have been recorded without knowledge, what to say of consent of the petitioner," the counsel argued.
The counsel further contended that the family court has given a complete go bye to Section 65 of the Indian Evidence Act, because if recordings were done through a mobile phone, CDs of the recording and transcripts thereof in any case cannot be accepted as evidence.
The counsel for the petitioner submitted that the husband, being very well aware of the conversations allegedly held years prior to filing of the divorce petition, was at liberty to have incorporated them in his pleadings at the very first instance.
Though the veracity of such conversations cannot be vouched for, even if taken to be correct, they are not admissible in evidence as they have been recorded without the consent or knowledge of the petitioner, the counsel submitted.
The counsel for the husband refuted the arguments and submitted that there was no question of infringement of the right of privacy and in any case, the husband can always be subjected to cross-examination.
It is vehemently argued that conversations so recorded are not beyond pleadings as it has always been the husband's case that he was treated with cruelty by his wife.
Though specific conversations are not mentioned in the petition, it has been clearly mentioned that the wife used to treat him in a cruel manner, his counsel argued.
The recorded conversations are only an attempt to prove the same, therefore, it cannot be said that they are beyond pleadings, the counsel argued.
The high court set aside the Bathinda family court order.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
