MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court has held that WhatsApp messages between spouses cannot be the sole basis for granting divorce, setting aside a Nashik family court order that had dissolved a marriage on grounds of cruelty.
A division bench of justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande quashed a May 2025 decree, observing that the husband’s case was primarily supported by WhatsApp chats and messages that were not proved by leading evidence.
“Merely relying on WhatsApp chats, the divorce decree cannot be granted, since it is not proved by leading evidence,” the court said in its order dated February 27, adding that the wife must be given an opportunity to rebut the material relied upon against her.
The family court had granted a divorce to a couple in 2025 after holding that certain messages sent by the wife were derogatory toward her husband and in-laws and amounted to mental cruelty. The court had observed that she insisted on relocating from Nashik to Pune and used “intemperate language,” which caused mental harassment.
The woman challenged the family court’s order, contending that the decree was passed solely on the basis of chats and SMS produced by the husband and that she was not given a fair opportunity to contest the evidence.
The high court remanded the matter to the Nashik family court for fresh consideration of all issues and allowed the parties to explore settlement through mediation.