High Court Allows Husband To Submit WhatsApp Chats As Evidence Of Wife's Adultery In Maintenance Case

Last Updated:February 26, 2026, 05:45 IST

Allahabad High Court allows husband to submit WhatsApp chats as evidence of alleged adultery to oppose maintenance, setting aside trial court's order.

The Allahabad High Court has directed a trial court to allow a husband to place certain WhatsApp chats on record to oppose his wife’s plea for maintenance on the ground of alleged adultery.

While hearing a petition filed by the husband, Justice Madan Pal Singh noted that the trial court had refused to accept the chats solely because the husband had not submitted a certificate under Section 65-B of the Indian Evidence Act, which is ordinarily required for the admissibility of electronic evidence, Bar&Bench reported.

However, the High Court said that Section 14 of the Family Courts Act empowers family courts to receive any evidence that may assist in effectively resolving a dispute, regardless of whether such evidence is otherwise admissible under the Indian Evidence Act.

“Consequently, the order dated 22.08.2025 passed by the trial court is not sustainable in the eyes of law and is accordingly set aside. The matter is remitted to the trial court for fresh consideration after hearing learned counsel for the parties and permitting the parties to adduce such evidence as may assist the court in effectively adjudicating the dispute in light of Section 14 of the Family Courts Act," the Court said as quoted by Bar&Bench.

The trial court had earlier directed the husband to pay Rs 10,000 per month as maintenance to his wife. Challenging this order before the High Court, the husband argued that his wife was “living in adultery" with another man — a ground for denial of maintenance under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

To support his claim, he sought to introduce WhatsApp chats allegedly exchanged between his wife and the other man. According to him, the chats were “indecent in nature and indicative of physical intimacy between them."

The High Court noted that the trial court neither examined the material nor framed a specific issue on the allegation of adultery.

“In view of the specific pleadings and supporting material filed by the revisionist, a specific issue ought to have been framed and adjudicated upon after considering the evidence on record," it observed.

Allowing the husband’s revision plea, the High Court set aside the earlier order and remanded the matter to the trial court for fresh consideration in light of the legal position clarified.

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