New Delhi: Holding that right to privacy is not an absolute right, the Supreme Court in a landmark ruling has said a matrimonial court had the power to order medical examination of one of the spouses in cases where divorce is being sought on health grounds.

While cautioning the courts not to order a roving inquiry about a person in a matrimonial dispute, a Bench comprising Chief Justice V N Khare, Justice S B Sinha and Justice A R Lakshmanan said, "A matrimonial court has the power to order a person to undergo medical test."

This judgement came on a petition filed by one Sharda challenging a Rajasthan High Court order upholding a directive of a matrimonial court asking her to undergo medical test on a petition for divorce filed by her husband alleging her to be of "unsound mind".

Rejecting the contention that ordering of medical test would be violative of right to privacy, the court said, "When there is no right to privacy specifically conferred by Article 21 and with the extensive interpretation of the phrase 'personal liberty' this right has been read into Article 21, it cannot be treated as absolute right."

Justice Sinha, writing the judgement for the Bench, said directing a party to the divorce proceedings to undergo medical test to gather material crucial to the decision of the case would "not be in violation of the right to personal liberty under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution".

PTI