SC verdict on adultery spooks snooping detectives

KOLKATA: Earlier this week, a private detective accompanied a teacher to her lawyer to brainstorm on how they could use all the evidence that he had gathered so painstakingly to file criminal charges against the woman’s adulterous husband.


Then came Thursday’s Supreme Court verdict on

adultery

. The private detective now understands that all his hard work will come to nought at least as far as filing criminal charges against the man under Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code is concerned.

The SC verdict has turned the world of the local Feludas and Byomkeshes, often used to snoop on spouses’ infidelty, upside down. “We had followed this teacher’s husband till Mandarmani and even checked the hotel register to collect evidence of his stay with his paramour,” private detective Ranjit Dey told TOI.

“Our client knew that her marriage was over but she wanted to teach her husband a lesson by filing a police complaint,” he added. Dey supports the SC verdict but he knows that his client cannot lodge an FIR now. He also knows that, in the long run, this has the potential to affect his income — and his profession’s — substantially.

Detective Subir Mitra has got three calls from his clients since Thursday. “We have been working on these cases since the last two months. These clients are now confused about how much support they will get from cops when they approach police stations with evidence of adultery,” Mitra said.

Mitra’s 14-year-old agency has often engaged in surveillance. “We would keep a watch on the suspect and even land at resorts to collect photographic evidence. We would then call up the client, who would drop by with a lawyer; subsequently, a case under Section 497 was filed. This can no longer happen with the new verdict although adultery remains a ground for divorce,” said Mitra.

Detectives fear dip in adultery snooping cases

Retired Indian Army officer Gopal Banerjee’s firm, Eye Witness Investigation and Detection, is currently working on 17 adultery cases. “At least 80% of post-matrimonial cases are about adultery,” he said. “There have been occasions where cops’ investigation has corroborated our findings and ended in arrests,” he added.

“I know that we will not be approached for such cases now,” Banerjee said, apprehending a dip in the number of clients who would hire detectives to gather proof just to intimidate the partner and not necessarily get a divorce. “Many used this evidence to settle matters out of court and reconcile. The verdict might not help them,” Banerjee said.

But some feel the work of detectives might actually become simpler now. Globe Detective Agency regional manager D K Das apprehends that suspects will now become “more brazen”. Currently, his Kolkata office is handling six adultery cases; each case is handled by a team of two detectives. “Earlier, people used a cover in case of extra-marital affairs. That will no longer be there. We are presuming that collecting evidence will henceforth get easier,” he said.


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