Supreme Court Flags Unregulated Private Investigators; Urges Law Commission to Frame Rules
The Supreme Court's Division Bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Vipul M. Pancholi has flagged the unregulated use of private investigators in matrimonial cases. While deciding a maintenance dispute, the court observed that photographs presented as evidence of adultery appeared to have been procured by private detectives, raising serious concerns about privacy breach, lack of proper authorisation, and absence of regulatory oversight.
The court termed the practice "an area sans regulation" and directed the Ministry of Law and Justice and Law Commission of India to examine the matter. It urged the legislature to frame comprehensive rules and regulations, while studying similar frameworks in Queensland (Australia), Ontario (Canada), the Netherlands, and Singapore.
The case involved a couple married in July 2014. After relationship breakdown, the wife filed for interim maintenance under Section 125 of CrPC in 2020. The husband presented 92 videos and 237 photos as evidence of infidelity to challenge the maintenance claim.
