Shubhansh Patel, Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat INTRODUCTION: With the advancement of technology, the concept of videoconferencing has become very popular where two or more people sitting in different places can interact face-to-face with each other virtually. This concept of video conferencing is not only limited to meeting with officials of companies or government officials, online classes, training sessions etc., but it has also become very familiar in Judiciary worldwide for hearing cases as it saves time and reduces pendency of cases. In this paper, we are analyzing the concept of video conferencing in case of transfer petition in matrimonial disputes in the light of a Supreme Court Judgment.
Matrimonial cases are the ones where there is a huge debate on the use of video conferencing for hearing purposes. Sometimes it happens that one of the parties lives outside the jurisdiction of the court where the case has been filed and seeks transfer of a such case from one jurisdiction to another for his/her convenience.1 Cases related to marriage are sensitive and it is important to protect the privacy of the parties involved in a matrimonial dispute. To protect the privacy of the parties, the Family Courts Act (FCA)2 mandates ‘in-camera proceedings’ in matrimonial disputes which means proceedings in absence of the public and media.
Section 11 of the FCA states, “In every suit or proceedings to which this Act applies, the proceedings may be held in camera if the Family Court so desires and shall be so held if either party so desires.” In Santhini v. Vijaya Venketesh3 (hereinafter Santhini), the Supreme Court of India limited the scope of video-conferencing and disallowed its use in case of transfer petition where only one of the parties to case requests for videoconferencing by setting aside the judgment given by a division bench of the SC in Krishna Veni Nagam v. Harish Nagam4. It was a 2:1 verdict where the majority believed that video-conferencing violates Section 11 of the FCA and disregards the purpose of the establishment of Family Courts. In this case, various important aspects related to proceedings before a family court in matrimonial disputes were discussed that we will analyse further.
