The Bombay High Court has directed a woman to provide her voice sample in a domestic dispute case. This move aims to verify her husband’s claim of an extra-marital affair through electronic evidence.
Mumbai: Today, On May 13, The Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court has ordered a woman to give her voice sample so that her estranged husband’s claim of her having an extra-marital affair can be verified.
The man had submitted some voice recordings in the ongoing matrimonial case and requested the court to direct his wife to give her voice sample so that the authenticity of the recordings could be checked by a forensic science laboratory.
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This decision was given by Justice Shailesh Brahme in an order passed on May 9.
The Court observed that even though the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 does not specifically have any section that allows courts to ask for voice samples, this particular matter involves both civil and criminal aspects.
So, the court has the power to direct such actions.
The judge noted,
“With the advent of technology, electronic evidence is replacing the conventional one.”
This clearly shows that the court is giving importance to new forms of evidence, like voice recordings, which are now considered valid and necessary in certain cases.
The husband had approached the court during the pendency of the domestic violence case, claiming that he had voice recordings that would show his wife was involved in an extra-marital affair.
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He wanted the court to help him get these recordings verified with a voice sample from his wife. In response, the court considered whether it could legally order a person to give a voice sample.
Justice Brahme explained in the order that,
“Under the Domestic Violence Act, there are no provisions to direct a party to provide voice samples, but the proceedings in the present case are both quasi-civil and quasi-criminal.”
This means the court felt it had the authority to make such a direction because the case was not just about private issues, but had legal elements that crossed both civil and criminal lines.
Therefore, after hearing the matter and reviewing the facts, the Aurangabad bench allowed the husband’s plea and ordered the woman to provide her voice sample.
This sample will now be sent to a forensic lab where experts will compare it with the recordings submitted by her husband to check if the voice is actually hers.
This order is an important example of how Indian courts are slowly but steadily adapting to technological changes and accepting digital and electronic evidence like voice recordings in sensitive family disputes.
The legal community is watching this development closely, as it may set a precedent for similar cases in the future where electronic evidence like voice or video recordings may play a key role.
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