India, July 14 -- The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that a spouse may rely on secretly recorded telephonic conversations with the partner in matrimonial disputes, including divorce proceedings, as such communications are not barred under the law and do not amount to a breach of privacy.

In a significant ruling that reshapes the contours of privacy and evidence within marriage, a bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma set aside a 2021 judgment of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which had barred a husband from using a compact disc (CD) or a memory card containing conversations with his estranged wife, recorded without her knowledge.

The court relied on Section 122 of the Indian Evidence Act, which bars disclosure of ...