What option does a woman have? Allahabad HC on live-in-relationships

Live-in-relationships in India have been accepted by the courts as valid form by consenting adults. However there are no specific laws that govern such relationships

The Allahabad High Court observed that it is difficult for an Indian woman to live alone after breaking up with her live-in-partner.

Justice Siddharth said on February 23 that the Indian society at large does not accept live-in-relationships. Hence when such relationships break up, the woman is left with no option but to file an FIR against the live-in-partner, a report in Live Law said.

In this case, a married woman was living in with a man named Aditya. He was arrested on November 24 2022, on charges of rape under the false pretext of marriage.

Further it was reported that the two had been in a live-in-relationship for the past five years. The woman had become pregnant with his child. The woman alleged that Aditya refused to marry her and even sent intimate photographs of her's to her husband. As a result of this, the husband too rejected her.

The woman has two children with her husband.

Aditya through his counsel submitted to the High Court that the complainant woman is an adult who had entered into a consensual relationship knowing about the consequences of such a relationship. He also rejected the woman's contention that he had promised to marry her and said he never made any such promise.

The court observed that this is a case of a disastrous consequence of a live-in-relationship.

The court however took note of the one-sided nature of the police investigation and granted Aditya bail.

Live-in-relationship in India:

While the judiciary has accepted the concept of live-in-relationship in India as a valid form between consenting adults, there is no specific law that governs the same.

Couples in India are not legally recognised as married couples and hence do not have the same legal rights and protection that married couples have. For instance, they cannot inherit property from each other or claim maintenance from their partner in case of a separation.

Live-in-relations in India are not illegal, but they are still not accepted by many.