LIVE-IN RELATIONSHIP AND ITS LEGALITY IN INDIA
India is a country with a rich cultural heritage. However, over the past few decades, there has been a dramatic change in the socioeconomic trend. Indians still have a limited perspective when incorporating Western cultural practices, especially live-in relationships. A live-in relationship is a scenario in which an unmarried couple cohabitates under the same roof for an extended period in a relationship that resembles a marriage. In other words, it is an arrangement where a man and a woman cohabit without getting married.
The status of the couples in a live-in relationship, as well as the concept of live-in relationships, are both ambiguous. In India, there is no explicit legislation governing live-in relationships. The status of children born to such couples and the rights and obligations of parties to a live-in relationship are not defined by law. Since there is no legal definition of the status of live-in partnerships, the courts have stepped in to clarify the idea.
In the case of Badri Prasad v. Dy. Director of Consolidation [1], the Supreme Court of India granted legal validity to a couple's 50-year live-in relationship. This was the first instance in which the live-in relationship was acknowledged as a genuine marriage. In another well-known case, S. Khushboo v. Kanniammal and Another [2], the Supreme Court determined that although living together is viewed as immoral by society, it is not illegal under Indian law because it is a right to life protected by Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.
The National Commission for Women suggested to the Ministry of Women and Child Development in June 2008 that live-in female partners be included for the right to maintenance under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973. The ruling in Abhijit Bhikaseth Auti v. State of Maharashtra and Others [3] promoted this opinion. The Maharashtra Government endorsed the idea of live-in relationships in October 2008 by approving the Malimath Committee and Law Commission of India's proposal that stated that if a woman had been in a live-in relationship for a significant amount of time, she should be granted the same legal protections as those given to wives. However, it has recently come to light that in Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code, a divorced wife is treated as a wife. If a person has not even been married, as in the case of live-in partners, they cannot be divorced and hence cannot claim maintenance under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Subsequently, there is no explicit statute that recognizes the status of couples in live-in relationships, and it is also unclear what the law says about the status of children born to such couples. There is no explicit statute that gives children of cohabiting partners a legal advantage or establishes any presumption of legitimacy. If the live-in partners end their relationship, the future of their children is severely endangered. The need for a solid measure to protect these children's rights arises. Once more, in the lack of specific legislation, the Indian Supreme Court took the initiative to protect the interests of the children of married couples. In the case of Bharata Matha & Ors. vs. R. Vijaya Renganathan & Ors. [4], the Supreme Court of India ruled that a child born into a live-in relationship may be permitted to inherit from their parents, if any, but has no claim to Hindu ancestral coparcenary property.
SOURCES:
1978 AIR 1557.
(2010) 5 SCC 600.
Abhijit Bhikaseth Auti v. State of Maharashtra and Others, 3 Cri.LJ, 889, 892 (Bom.2009).
AIR 2010 SC 2685.
https://www.indiafilings.com/learn/live-in-relationships-in-india/
**Author: Saumya Gupta, a 2nd year law student at Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad
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