Live-in relationships in India

• A live-in relationship also called cohabitation in some countries is an arrangement when two people involved in a romantic and sexual relationship as partners for a long term or permanently, decide to live together without marriage. Ever since the live-in relationship in India has been legalised, it is essential to know the obligations and responsibilities that come along with it.
• Indeed India has witnessed a drastic change in the way the present generation discern their relationships. With the society gradually accepting live-in relationships, the taboo that used to haunt people before moving into on has started fading away. This has happened over the years with a right to freedom, privacy, professionalism, globalisation and education. Furthermore, it is not an escape from the responsibilities; in fact, it is an attempt to know your partner better and to see the compatibility, so that divorce can be prevented.

Live-in relationship under Indian law

In the case Indra Sarma vs VKV Sarma, 2013, Honourable Supreme Court stated that live-in relationships have five distinct ways:

• A domestic cohabitation between a major unmarried female and a major unmarried male. It is considered as the simplest kind of relationship between all.
• A domestic cohabitation between that was entered mutually by a major unmarried woman and a married man. A domestic cohabitation between that was entered mutually by a major unmarried man and a married woman.
• These two are the most acknowledged type of live-in relationship in India. Moreover, adultery is a type of relationship, and it is punishable under the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
• A domestic cohabitation between that was entered unknowingly by a major unmarried woman, and a married man is also punishable under Indian Penal Code, 1860.
• A domestic cohabitation between partners who are homosexual, cannot lead to a marital relationship. As in India, any matrimonial law for homosexuality is not defined yet.

The legal status of live-in relationship in India

• In western countries, there is a broader acceptance of a couple in a relationship. This can be understood by their civil and union agreements, legal recognition, prenuptial between couples. However, it is not similar in India. In most of the western Apex Courts, it was ruled that if a man and a woman has lived in a live-in relationship for a long term and even has children, same marital laws as a husband and a wife will be applicable on them.
• In India, the Apex Court even stated that a woman and a man living together is a choice and lies under the right to life. Hence, it is not a criminal offence. So, live-in relationships in India are legal.

Marriage vs. live-in relationship

• Marriage is a more legal and socially-accepted form of relationship between couples. There is a social validation that has its own appeal and satisfaction. However, live-in relationships are the new and on-going trends among the youth that gives them the freedom to live with their partners without any pressure of arranged marriages. Both of these socially-constructed institutions of love and relationships have their pros and cons.
• In context of the Indian society, living with someone before marriage is still treated as a taboo, especially in a man-woman relationship. It corresponds to the idea of virginity, especially of women, which is considered violated, if and when she engages in a physical relationship with a man before her marriage. She is then seen as someone impure or unholy, which is a traditional thought but widely accepted. This is why a live-in relationship is highly criticised by the society.
• In contrast to this, a section of the youth may not agree with what the conservative side of the society has to say. They feel that live-in relationship gives them the sense of freedom as well as the feeling of a conjugal life without the restrictions posed by the institution of marriage. In a live-in relationship, one can leave or stay whenever he or she feels things aren’t working out. But marriages can take a toll, as they meant to be together for a lifetime, or in the Indian context, for seven lifetimes! Also, the legality involving a marriage makes it a difficult and time-consuming process to dissolve it or seek a divorce.
• Marriages are said to be made in heaven and this is what the majority of the people believe. Subconsciously, this idea is fixed in the minds of the people and knowingly or unknowingly, the couples in a marital relationship work hard to make their relationship last for a long time and sometimes until death does them apart. Therefore, marriages are a more stable form of a relationship. In contradiction, a live-in can be too liberating at times. With no restrictions, there are more possibilities of instability and insecurity. If you have not committed in a marital and a legal bond, you cannot be sure of it.
• Not every marriage is bliss. In order to deal with the disputes arises in marriages between the partners, marriage laws have been created in different religions.
• Along with the laws related to maintenance under personal laws, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, section 125, also shields the wife with maintenance if she cannot maintain herself.
• Also, there are provisions for women seeking extra maintenance other than maintenance received under other laws, Protection of Women from Domestic Violence act, 2005, section 20(1) (d).

Live-in relationship in India

• Live-in relationship in India has been in talks since years, but there is no law that binds the partners with each other if any of the partners wants to walk out of a relationship.
• The legal definition of a live-in relationship is still unconfirmed, as there is no legal definition of the same. As mentioned, the right of a wife to get maintenance is decided by the court under the Protection of Women under Domestic Violence Act, 2005 and the individual facts.
• Though the concept of live-in relationship is still a taboo in India, and not openly accepted by the society, the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 offers maintenance and protection by providing alimony for an aggrieved live-in partner.

Protection of children and women of a live-in relationship from exploitation  

Maintenance of the female partner

• All the personal laws in India protect their women by offering the right to maintenance to them. But, unfortunately, none of the religions accepts and recognises a live-in relationship. Hence it is the Indian courts that worked on a remedy to this problem by widening up the scope of maintenance under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. Section 125 of the act offers a legal right to maintenance to the female partner both in and out of marriage.

Domestic violence with the female partner or children born out of a live-in relationship

• The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 was enforced to protect the women in India from abusive (mental, verbal, economic and physical) marital relationships. Shielding the female partner in a live-in relationship, section 2(f) of the act is applicable for protection to not only married women but women living in a ‘relationship in nature of marriage.’
• Considering all these factors, the Honourable Supreme Court of India has allowed live-in relationships, covered within the ambit of law specified, in a couple of cases.

Children born out of marriages 

• In a live-in relationship, child/children can be born if it sustains for a long time. It is noteworthy that as per the Guidelines Governing the Adoption of Children as notified by the Central Adoption Resource Authority, live-in couples cannot adopt a child in India. But in case any dispute arises regarding custody of a child, the partners can consult a child custody lawyer.

Legitimacy and inheritance rights of children born out of a live-in relationship

• The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, section 16 talks about inheritance rights of children and provides the legal status of legitimacy to an illegitimate child (born out of marriage or live in) for the sole purpose of inheritance. Hence, the children born out of a live-in relationship are also granted inheritance rights. These rights are applicable to both ancestral and self-bought properties.

Custody and maintenance rights of children born out of a live-in relationship

• It is the personal marriage laws that deal with the maintenance rights of children born out of regular marriages, which is applicable to children born out of a live-in relationship as well. It varies from one personal law to another. Like, under Muslim rule, a father is not liable for maintenance for a child born out of marriage, whereas in the Hindu law, the father has to maintain such child.
• Furthermore, section 125, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, is there for children who cannot claim maintenance under personal laws, as it offers a legal right of maintenance to both the wife, female partner and children.

Merits OF A LIVE-IN RELATIONSHIP

1. You can be just yourself.
2. People get to know each other’s nature and temperament and check their emotional and physical compatibility.
3. Free of legal obligations of any kind. There will be no legal harassment like divorce filing etc.
4. People in live in relationships are not dependent on each other financially, emotionally or legally.

Demerits OF A LIVE-IN RELATIONSHIP

1. Lack of a loyalty factor.
2. Lack the stability and comfort that marriages can offer.
3. Women could be more vulnerable to exploitation as they have lesser legal rights as compared to married women.
4. Societal Stigma
5. Legitimacy and inheritance rights of children born

Summing up

• By all means, we can conclude that the concept and legal status of a live-in relationship in India have only evolved with time, and various judgements by Honourable Supreme Court and the Apex courts play the most crucial part in it. However, there is no legality to the subject, as there is no separate legislation for the provisions of a live-in in India. Although the concept of a live-in relationship is a subject of morality in India, it’s not illegal according to the laws.
• The pros and cons of both arrangements have always been before us. For those who believe live-in is a cultural violation, it would never gain respect and for those who are moving with the times, it is the perfect arrangement. Either way the choice is ours. Like it’s said, nothing is right or wrong: Thinking makes it so? if you feel you can’t handle the responsibility, the apparent monotonous tone of married life and you need space, freedom, live-in is the answer. And the debate of which is a better deal, still continues, though a live-in relationship can never be a threat to an age-old institution like marriage. In the end, whatever relationship one chooses, it should be an arrangement where interests of both the partners are kept in mind and there is an understanding and commitment between the two. It is just a matter of perception, one can take a marriage as a live-in arrangement or have a live-in like marriage.
• In India, there is no specific law for live-in relationships. A live-in relationship, although recognised by the judicial system, lacks cultural approval and remains stigmatised. Proper legal enactment is essential to safeguard the rights and interests of such parties.