Adults don't have to marry, can stay in a live-in relationship: Laws you should know
In light of the recently updated law that de-criminalizes live-in relationships, the bench ruled that 'marriageable age is not a relevant factor for living together by two adults'. Read to know the live-in relationship laws in India and the recent judgment.
https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/you-could-be-too-young-for-marriage-but-old-enough-for-a-live-in-relationship-reminds-supreme-court-laws-you-should-know-1228325-2018-05-07
Tanya Saihgal
New Delhi
May 7, 2018UPDATED: May 7, 2018 18:43 IST
A still from the movie Cocktail. (Representational image)
A still from the movie Cocktail. (Representational image)
Two adults have the right to live together even if they have not attained marriageable age, the Supreme Court has said. The ruling came in a recent Kerala case of a father filing a plea for his daughter eloping with an 'underage' boy.
Hence, according to the law, if you are an adult you can live in with another adult. In India, a person becomes an adult when s/he turns 18 years.
The Kerala case
A father filed a missing person report after his 19-year-old daughter had allegedly eloped and married a boy of under 21 years of age
Since the girl was of marriageable age but the boy wasn't, the Kerala High Court entrusted the custody of the girl to her father
The boy approached the apex court contending that since the girl is admittedly a major, she has the right to live wherever she wants to or move as per her choice and the high court could not have entrusted the girl to her father
The bench of Justice AK Sikri and Justice Ashok Bhushan agreed with these contentions, and observed:
Even if they were not competent to enter into wedlock (which position itself is disputed), they have the right to live together even outside wedlock. It would not be out of place to mention that 'live-in relationship' is now recognised by the legislature itself which has found its place under the provisions of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005
Adding that:
"The daughter is entitled to enjoy her freedom as the law permits and the court should not assume the role of a super guardian being moved by any kind of sentiment of the mother or the egotism of the father."
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Here is the best part:
We make it clear that the freedom of choice would be of Thushara (the girl) as to with whom she wants to live
- the bench said while allowing the appeal
Live-in relationships were declared as an acceptable custom in Indian society by the Supreme Court on July 23, 2015. Here is how.
A woman aged 29, who has been in a live-in relationship with her partner for three years, thinks that "however free couples living-in together are according to the law in our country, society does not accept them in the same way. The judiciary has come along way in decriminalising and criminalising a lot of things, but the problem lies in the people, their mindsets, their thinking".
Quoting an incident she faced being in a live-in with her partner, she told us:
When we [she and her partner] were looking for a place to stay, we were rejected by about 20 landlords before we finally were accepted at the one we have been living in since. It was a hard time...
Protection of women and child rights in live-in relationships
Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code has been provided to give a legal right of maintenance to lady partners in or out of a marriage
As per Section 2 (f) of the Domestic Violence Act not only applies to a married couple, but also to a 'relationship in nature of marriage'
Section 16 of the Hindu Marriage Act, provides the legal status of legitimacy even to illegitimate children (those born out of marriage) for the sole purpose of inheritance. Therefore, inheritance rights have been granted to children born out of a live-in relationship. These rights are available in both ancestral and self-bought properties
In light of the recently updated law that de-criminalizes live-in relationships, the bench ruled that 'marriageable age is not a relevant factor for living together by two adults'. Read to know the live-in relationship laws in India and the recent judgment.
https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/you-could-be-too-young-for-marriage-but-old-enough-for-a-live-in-relationship-reminds-supreme-court-laws-you-should-know-1228325-2018-05-07
Tanya Saihgal
New Delhi
May 7, 2018UPDATED: May 7, 2018 18:43 IST
A still from the movie Cocktail. (Representational image)
A still from the movie Cocktail. (Representational image)
Two adults have the right to live together even if they have not attained marriageable age, the Supreme Court has said. The ruling came in a recent Kerala case of a father filing a plea for his daughter eloping with an 'underage' boy.
Hence, according to the law, if you are an adult you can live in with another adult. In India, a person becomes an adult when s/he turns 18 years.
The Kerala case
A father filed a missing person report after his 19-year-old daughter had allegedly eloped and married a boy of under 21 years of age
Since the girl was of marriageable age but the boy wasn't, the Kerala High Court entrusted the custody of the girl to her father
The boy approached the apex court contending that since the girl is admittedly a major, she has the right to live wherever she wants to or move as per her choice and the high court could not have entrusted the girl to her father
The bench of Justice AK Sikri and Justice Ashok Bhushan agreed with these contentions, and observed:
Even if they were not competent to enter into wedlock (which position itself is disputed), they have the right to live together even outside wedlock. It would not be out of place to mention that 'live-in relationship' is now recognised by the legislature itself which has found its place under the provisions of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005
Adding that:
"The daughter is entitled to enjoy her freedom as the law permits and the court should not assume the role of a super guardian being moved by any kind of sentiment of the mother or the egotism of the father."
ADVERTISEMENT
Here is the best part:
We make it clear that the freedom of choice would be of Thushara (the girl) as to with whom she wants to live
- the bench said while allowing the appeal
Live-in relationships were declared as an acceptable custom in Indian society by the Supreme Court on July 23, 2015. Here is how.
A woman aged 29, who has been in a live-in relationship with her partner for three years, thinks that "however free couples living-in together are according to the law in our country, society does not accept them in the same way. The judiciary has come along way in decriminalising and criminalising a lot of things, but the problem lies in the people, their mindsets, their thinking".
Quoting an incident she faced being in a live-in with her partner, she told us:
When we [she and her partner] were looking for a place to stay, we were rejected by about 20 landlords before we finally were accepted at the one we have been living in since. It was a hard time...
Protection of women and child rights in live-in relationships
Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code has been provided to give a legal right of maintenance to lady partners in or out of a marriage
As per Section 2 (f) of the Domestic Violence Act not only applies to a married couple, but also to a 'relationship in nature of marriage'
Section 16 of the Hindu Marriage Act, provides the legal status of legitimacy even to illegitimate children (those born out of marriage) for the sole purpose of inheritance. Therefore, inheritance rights have been granted to children born out of a live-in relationship. These rights are available in both ancestral and self-bought properties
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