Date: 3 Adar Sheini 5589
From: Rabbi Moshe Sofer
To: Rabbi Meir
Beis Din has no affirmative duty to seek out witnesses on the basis of rumor alone, though witnesses bear an independent obligation to come forward; the Chasam Sofer draws on the ir hanidachas passage to show that judicial investigation is triggered only by testimony, not rumor. On the question of refraining from separating the couple due to the husband's threat of apostasy, the Chasam Sofer refers Rabbi Meir to an earlier ruling (Chasam Sofer YD §322) distinguishing cases involving minor children from those without such concerns.
Source: Shu"t Chasam Sofer EH II §174