India, March 5 -- The Bombay High Court has held that WhatsApp messages between spouses cannot be the sole basis for granting divorce, setting aside a Nashik family court order that had dissolved a marriage on grounds of cruelty.

A division bench of justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande quashed a May 2025 decree, observing that the husband's case was primarily supported by WhatsApp chats and messages that were not proved by leading evidence.

"Merely relying on WhatsApp chats, the divorce decree cannot be granted, since it is not proved by leading evidence," the court said in its order dated February 27, adding that the wife must be given an opportunity to rebut the material relied upon against her.

The family court had granted...