Pune Court Grants Divorce After Hearing Jailed Husband Through Video Conferencing
Pune, 15th July 2026: In a rare case, a Pune district court has granted a divorce after recording the response of a husband who appeared in the proceedings through video conferencing from prison.
According to advocate Satish Dhoka, representing the petitioner, this is believed to be the first instance in the Pune district judiciary where a divorce petition has been decided after the respondent, who was in judicial custody, participated in the hearing virtually from jail.
During the proceedings, the husband informed the court that he did not wish to contest the divorce petition. He also declined legal assistance offered by the court and stated that he would neither submit a written reply nor oppose his wife’s plea for dissolution of the marriage.
Additional District Judge Mahendra R. Jadhav subsequently allowed the petition filed under Section 27 of the Special Marriage Act, observing that the wife had established allegations of mental cruelty. The court accordingly passed a decree of divorce.
Court records show that the couple married under the Special Marriage Act in September 2014. In her petition, the wife alleged that her husband subjected her to mental harassment after leaving his job and starting share market training classes.
She further informed the court that her husband is currently in jail in connection with an alleged investment fraud case involving around 40 to 50 investors, with the suspected cheating amount estimated at ₹5 crore to ₹6 crore.
The court, after considering the evidence and the respondent’s statement made through video conferencing, allowed the divorce petition.
