OF LOVE AND LAW: WHY INDIA MUST REJECT ALIENATION OF AFFECTION: A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF TORT’S RELEVANCE IN LIGHT OF PRIVACY, AUTONOMY AND JUDICIAL PRECEDENCE

AUTHOR – KAVYANJALI JHA, ADVOCATE, GRADUATE FROM LAW CENTER 1, FACULTY OF LAW, UNIVERSITY OF DELHI

BEST CITATION – KAVYANJALI JHA, OF LOVE AND LAW: WHY INDIA MUST REJECT ALIENATION OF AFFECTION: A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF TORT’S RELEVANCE IN LIGHT OF PRIVACY, AUTONOMY AND JUDICIAL PRECEDENCE, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 5 (12) OF 2025, PG. 407-416, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.

ABSTRACT

The tort of alienation of affection bedded out of the Anglo-American Common Law. The tort allows a spouse to sue the third party for malevolently interfering with once’s marital life. The heart balm is still remains virtually unknow in the Indian legal landscape, despite it being recognized by a few U.S jurisdictions. The paper critically examines philosophical foundation, historical development and its precarious compliance with constitutional and social structure of contemporary India. Through an analysis of judicial precedents, evidentiary complication coupled with constitutional values-specifically the right of privacy, personal autonomy and dignity. The paper argues such a tort is antiquated and retrogressive. The passage of this law is also discouraged in the wake of decriminalization of adultery, rise of judicial restraint in marital disputes and increasing misuse of matrimonial laws like Section 498AIPC. The paper highlights the intrinsicses of human relationships and instead of a confrontational litigation suggest Alternative Dispute Mechanism as more constructive and empathetic path. Sequentially at the end it comes to a conclusion that the tort, neither practically nor theoretically, is suited to current Indian jurisprudence.