Evidence act is not strictly followed in family court

IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD

R/FIRST APPEAL NO. 728 of 2020

HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE N.V.ANJARIA

and

HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SANDEEP N. BHAT

DHARMENDRA BABUBHAI PRAJAPATI 

Versus

KHUSHALIBEN D/O MAHESHBHAI PATEL

5.5 The evidence highlighted above reveal material

facts about the relationship between the parties and

the treatment meted out to the respondent wife by

appellant husband. Even otherwise, it may be

recollected that section 14 of the Family Courts Act

deals with the application of Indian Evidence Act,

1872. It says that a Family Court may receive as

evidence any report, statement, documents,

information or matter that may in its opinion assist

to deal effectually with a dispute, whether or not

the same would be otherwise relevant or admissible

under the Indian Evidence Act. In other words, the

aforesaid provision gives certain leeway to the

Family Court in dealing with the matters which are

matrimonial in nature. These matters are permitted

to be dealt with without being strictly bound by the

Rules of evidence. 

5.5.1 Though the Evidence Act would apply, a kind

of leeway is given to the Family Court. The

legislature wanted the Family Court to receive the

documents, etc., irrespective of its relevance or

admissibility under the Indian Evidence Act, when

otherwise they throw light on the issues involved.

Any such report, statement, document or information

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could be received by the Family Court. 

5.5.2 The object of the above provision was

explained by the Bombay High Court in Deepali Santosh

Lokhande vs. Santosh Vasantrao Lokhande[2018(1) Mh LJ

944] in paragraph 6 as under,

"The object, effect and consequence of this

provision is to remove any embargo on the Family

Court to first examine the relevancy or

admissibility of the documents under Indian

Evidence Act in considering such documents in

adjudication of the matrimonial dispute. The

Statement of Object and Reasons leading to the

enactment of the Family Court's Act would also

become a guiding factor so as to ascertain the

intention of the legislature in framing Section

14 when it uses the above words. One of the

objects of the legislation as Clause 2 (h) of

the Statement of Object and Reasons would

provide is "simplify the rules of evidence and

procedure so as to enable a Family Court to deal

effectively with a dispute". This clearly

manifests the intention of the legislature to

remove complexities in the application of rules

of evidence to make the procedure more

comprehensible so as to enable a Family Court to

deal effectively with a matrimonial dispute

under the Family Courts Act, which is a special

Act."

5.5.3 Thus the position emerges is that the

Family Court may receive the document even if not

legally admissible in evidence and consider such

facts out of the rigour of the relevancy or

admissibility under the Evidence Act if the Family

Court is of the opinion that such document, material

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or such fact in issue would assist to deal with the

dispute effectively.

5.5.4 The following observations in Deepali

Santosh Lokhande (supra) become more relevant in the

facts obtained in this case, extracted from paragraph

10,

"In matrimonial cases, the Family Court is

expected to adopt standards as to how a prudent

person would gauge the realities of life and a

situation of commotion and turmoil between the

parties and applying the principle of

preponderance of probabilities, consider whether

a particular fact is proved. Thus, the approach

of the Family Court is required to be realistic

and rational to the facts in hand rather than

technical and narrow. It cannot be overlooked

that matrimonial disputes involve human problems

which are required to be dealt with utmost human

sensitivity by using all intelligible skills to

judge such issues. The Family Court has a

special feature where in a given case there may

not be legal representation of the parties."

5.5.5 The very proposition of section 14 read

with section 20 of the Act in permitting the court

dealing with matrimonial disputes to consider the

evidence irrespective of its admissibility and

relevance and thus, in a way distancing from strict

rules of evidence, is intended to facilitate the

adjudication of matrimonial disputes in right

direction. It is rather wisdom of facts and not the

insensitive corners of law which should guide the

Family Court and the Courts dealing with matrimonial

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disputes in its decision making process.

5.5.6 In other words, as the matrimonial disputes

are peculiar by their very nature, special standards

to deal with the facts and evidence have to be

employed by the courts to cull out the truth. The

courts are often required to read the facts and

assessed the evidence, between the lines. The

Courts are often needed to scan the facts to deduce

the reality. The veil may have to be lifted to see

through and behind the curtain as to what are the

real implications from the facts obtained and how the

matrimonial relationship work. An approach of

prudence would require in the process of arriving at

conclusion. The ground of cruelty is also required

to be addressed and assessed from facts and evidence

accordingly.