Know Your Rights!!

The Supreme Court has ruled that  secretly recorded phone conversations between spouses can be used as evidence in matrimonial disputes. The judgment in  Vibhor Garg v. Neha (2025 INSC 829) , delivered on  July 14, 2025 , has finally settled years of confusion among Indian courts. Vibhor Garg and Neha married in 2009 but their relationship fell apart. When Vibhor filed for divorce in 2017, he had secret phone recordings of conversations with his wife from 2010 and 2016. When he tried to use these as evidence, Neha objected, saying it violated her  right to privacy. The Punjab & Haryana High Court agreed with her and blocked the recordings. The Supreme Court, led by  Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma , disagreed completely. They ruled that privacy is  not absolute  and must be balanced against the right to a fair trial. The judgment shows how confused courts were before this decision: Courts That Allowed Re...

  The Bombay High Court’s recent decision in Ritesh Haldar v. Elite Housing LLP and Ors, Commercial Arbitration Appeals (L) No.14486/2025 and No.15542/2025, delivered on 24 June 2025 , sheds light on how property and family disputes are handled during building redevelopments—a common event in Mumbai’s old housing societies. In this case, a flat in Khar, Mumbai, became the focus of a dispute between family members when their building was taken up for redevelopment. Ritesh Haldar, the appellant, is one of three brothers in the Haldar family. When the flat was purchased, Ritesh's mother's name (Sabita Haldar) was also included for society membership purposes. After Sabita passed away in 2002, Ritesh claimed to have become the sole owner of the flat, as his name remained on the society records. However, his brothers—Rohitesh (whose wife is Leena) and Rajesh—claimed that their mother owned a 50% share in the flat, which they say passed to all siblings after her death. In the meantim...

A significant decree in  Metpalli Lasum Bai (Since Dead) And Others v. Metapalli Muthaih(D) By Lrs.,   C.A. No(s). 5921 of 2015 with C.A. No(s). 5922 of 2015 , decided on 21 st July 2025, the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India reiterated the evidentiary value and legal presumption attached to a registered will. The matter arose from a property dispute within the Metpalli family and highlights the importance of executing and registering a will to ensure the testator’s {i.e. person making a will is called testator(ix)} intentions are legally honoured and protected against future challenges. In the present case, the testator, Metpalli Rajanna, who passed away in 1983, had contracted second marriage after his first wife passed away leaving behind two children. His second wife – Lasum Bai who did not bear any child. In light of internal familial tensions—particularly between his second wife, Lasum Bai, and his son Muthaiah—he executed a registered will dated 24 th  July 1974....