{"id":347541,"date":"2025-10-07T16:21:27","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T10:51:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?p=347541"},"modified":"2025-10-07T16:21:27","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T10:51:27","slug":"tort-of-alienation-of-affection-aoa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/tort-of-alienation-of-affection-aoa\/","title":{"rendered":"Tort of Alienation of Affection (AoA)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>News:<\/strong> The Delhi High Court, in <em data-start=\"57\" data-end=\"108\">Shelly Mahajan v. MS Bhanushree Bahl &amp; Anr (2024)<\/em>, delivered a first-of-its-kind order allowing a spouse to seek civil damages from a third party accused of intentionally interfering in a marriage.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>About Tort of Alienation of Affection (AoA)<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_347548\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-347548\" style=\"width: 200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-347548\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Source-LiveLaw.jpg?resize=200%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Source-LiveLaw.jpg?resize=200%2C300&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Source-LiveLaw.jpg?w=270&amp;ssl=1 270w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-347548\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source &#8211; LiveLaw<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>AoA<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> is a <\/span><b>common law tort<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (a \u201cheart-balm\u201d action) that allows a <\/span><b>spouse<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to sue a <\/span><b>third person<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> for <\/span><b>willfully and maliciously interfering<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in a marriage and causing <\/span><b>loss of affection, companionship, or consortium<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Idea behind:<\/strong> It is <strong>based on the idea<\/strong> that <strong>marriage<\/strong> carries<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0<\/span><b>legal interests<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> such as consortium, intimacy, support and a shared life<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0that can be <strong>legally protected from wrongful interference.<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">It is <\/span><b>not codified<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> or expressly recognized in Indian law. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">It is <\/span><b>not prohibited either<\/b> but\u00a0has been acknowledged in several judicial decisions.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">To establish a valid <\/span><b>AoA claim<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, the plaintiff must prove:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Intentional and wrongful conduct<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> by the third party directed at alienating the marriage.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Causation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> is that the conduct <\/span><b>directly caused a legal injury<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> or the <\/span><b>loss of marital affection<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The <\/span><b>loss suffered<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> is <\/span><b>measurable and legally cognisable<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (capable of rational assessment).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Jurisdiction: Civil courts<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> have the authority to hear AoA cases.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify\">Judgement under Shelly Mahajan v. MS Bhanushree Bahl &amp; Anr case (2025)<\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In <\/span><b><i>Shelly Mahajan v. MS Bhanushree Bahl &amp; Anr<\/i><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, the <\/span><b>Delhi High Court (HC)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, in a <\/span><b>first-of-its-kind decision<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, allowed a <\/span><b>civil damages suit<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> against a <\/span><b>third-party<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> accused of interfering in a marriage.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The <\/span><b>wife (plaintiff)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> sought compensation from her <\/span><b>husband\u2019s alleged affair partner<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, claiming that the <\/span><b>third party\u2019s wrongful interference<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> caused the <\/span><b>breakdown of her marriage<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The <\/span><b>HC clarified<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> that while <\/span><b>Joseph Shine<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> case removed the <\/span><b>criminal aspect<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> of adultery, it <\/span><b>did not confer immunity<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> on third parties from <\/span><b>civil liability<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> for <\/span><b>malicious interference in a marriage<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Matrimonial laws<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (like the <\/span><b>Hindu Marriage Act, 1955<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">) provide <\/span><b>remedies between spouses,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> such as <\/span><b>divorce or judicial separation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, but <\/span><b>not against third parties<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Therefore, in the <\/span><b>absence of a statutory bar<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a <\/span><b>civil tort claim<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> for <\/span><b>alienation of affection<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> is <\/span><b>legally maintainable<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The HC <\/span><b>overruled objections<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> about the <strong>maintainability of the suit<\/strong> and <\/span><b>issued summons<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, allowing the case to proceed.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>Legal Principle Affirmed:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>A spouse\u2019s right to marital consortium and affection is a protectable legal interest.<\/li>\n<li>Correspondingly, third parties owe a duty not to intentionally and wrongfully interfere with that relationship.<\/li>\n<li>Where such interference causes demonstrable harm, damages may be claimed under civil law.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify\">Other Judicial References<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><b><i>Pinakin Mahipatray Rawal v. State of Gujarat<\/i><\/b><b> (2013):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The Supreme Court observed that <\/span><b>alienation of affection by a stranger<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, if proved, constitutes an <\/span><b>intentional tort<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><b><i>Indra Sarma v. V.K.V. Sarma<\/i><\/b><b> (2013):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The Court noted that <\/span><b>children<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> may also have a potential cause of action if a <\/span><b>third party alienates their parents\u2019 affection<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In <\/span><b><i>Joseph Shine v. Union of India<\/i><\/b><b> (2018)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, <\/span><b>Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> was struck down and thereby <\/span><b>decriminalised adultery<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. The Court ruled that <\/span><b>consensual extramarital relationships<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> cannot attract criminal punishment, affirming that <\/span><b>adultery is a matter of personal privacy<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Court clarified that while adultery is <\/span><b>no longer a criminal offence<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, it remains a <\/span><b>civil wrong<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and a <\/span><b>valid ground for divorce<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>News: The Delhi High Court, in Shelly Mahajan v. MS Bhanushree Bahl &amp; Anr (2024), delivered a first-of-its-kind order allowing a spouse to seek civil damages from a third party accused of intentionally interfering in a marriage. About Tort of Alienation of Affection (AoA) AoA is a common law tort (a \u201cheart-balm\u201d action) that allows&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/tort-of-alienation-of-affection-aoa\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Tort of Alienation of Affection (AoA)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10366,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1566,1760,12039],"tags":[11872,10498],"class_list":["post-347541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily-factly-articles","category-polity-and-nation","category-knolls","tag-9pm-daily-factly","tag-the-hindu","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10366"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=347541"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347541\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=347541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=347541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=347541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}