This case is from November 2019, where the Karnataka High Court upheld a lower court’s decision to admit the video as evidence and grant divorce.

The Ballari man and the woman tied the knot on July 7, 1991 and the couple has two daughters. He had placed a digital video recorder (DVR) in their bedroom while he had gone to Bengaluru between June 4 and June 9, 2008. During that time, his wife having sex with one of her friends was caught on the camera.

After that, the man approached the family court in Ballari seeking divorce on grounds of adultery and cruelty. Though the family court rejected the ground of cruelty, it went by video evidence and granted him divorce citing adultery.

The wife challenged the judgement of decree of divorce in July 30, 2013 before the high court. She claimed her husband was in the habit of making pornographic films and forcing her to act in such films. She asked the court to set aside the decree of divorce.
However, a division bench comprising justices Alok Aradhe and PGM Patil noted that the wife had not disputed the content or the genuineness of the DVD and had also not complained about her husband making use of her in pornographic films.

The bench noted, “Though the alleged adulterer is an appropriate party in a case where divorce is sought on grounds of adultery, the non-impleadment of such a person would have no impact on the proceedings of the case as even the Hindu Marriage (Karnataka) Rules, 1956 don’t provide for it,” the judges held.

The bench also pointed out that one of the two daughters of the couple had tendered evidence that between June 4 and June 9, 2008, they had stayed with their mother in Ballari and nowhere was it stated that their father was also at home.