Live- in relationships and it’s legal status

• Generally, a voluntary arrangement between two adults to live together on a

permanent or long-term basis in a sexually and/or emotionally intimate relationship.

• It has no legal definition.

• It is free from legal bonds and commitment.
• Also called walk in & walk out relationship.

• To avoid the marital obligations which are an inseparatable part of marriage, and
enjoy the benefits of cohabiting together, the concept of live in relationship
emerged.
• It provides life free from responsibilities and commitments, which are essential of a
marriage.

• Nowadays Live in relationship is no more substitute to the marriage; it is having its

own stand in society and in law of the country.
• It is not illegal in India-Clarified by Hon’ble Supreme Court through various
judgments.

Case -
Indira Sarma vs VKV Sarma (2013)
- In this case five kinds of live-in relationships were identified by the Court.
1. Domestic relationship between an adult male and an adult female, both unmarried.
2. Domestic relationship between a married man and an adult unmarried woman,
entered knowingly.
3. Domestic relationship between an adult unmarried man and a married woman,
entered knowingly.
4. Domestic relationship between an unmarried adult female and a married male,
entered Unknowingly.
5. Domestic relationship between same sex partners (gay or lesbian).

Persons involved in Live in Relationship:

a) Unmarried man and unmarried woman; or
b) Married man and unmarried woman; or
c) Unmarried man and married woman; or
d) Persons of same sex

Live in relationship is nothing but living together or cohabitation between two adults that
arose purely out of love and affection towards each other.

Live in relationship in Indian history

• Premarital relationships existed both in the Vedic period and afterwards, but was a
rare occurrence-Manu.
 1. Gandharva Vivah: Man, and a woman mutually consent to get married. Neither
involves the family of the couple nor a particular ritual to solemnize the marriage
2. Maitri Karar: man, and a woman enter into a friendship agreement, a legitimate
contract before a magistrate.
3. Custom in indigenous Garasia tribe.

Issues
• The absence of any social responsibility leads to some people misusing the
relationship and frequently switching the partner.
• Getting into a relationship without any commitments can be a double-edged sword.
• Common legal issues:
• Status of the relationship,
• Rights and obligations of the partners and
• Status and rights of the children born out of live in relationship.
• Absence of a statute on live-in relationships.

LEGALITY OF LIVE-IN RELATIONSHIPS IN INDIA

• None of the legislation deals with live-in relationships.

• Laws/ recognition is only in the form of court verdicts.
• Before independence:
• Living together as husband and wife for a long term, shall be presumed legally
married unless proved contrary.

“Where a man and a woman are proved to have lived together as a man and wife, the law
will presume, unless the contrary be clearly proved, that they were living together in
consequences of a valid marriage.”

Post-independence

Thakur Gokal Chand v/s. Parvin Kumari, AIR 1952

Marriage is presumed due to long cohabitation.

Badri Prasad v. Deputy Director of Consolidation 1978

Supreme Court recognized the live in relationship first time and upheld the validity of a fifty-
year live-in relationship.

Payal Katara v. Superintendent, Nari Niketan, and Ors. AIR 2001

Live in relationship may be regarded as immoral by society but is not illegal.

Patel and Others 2006 (8) SCC 726

Live in relationship between two adults without marriage is not an offence. No law which
postulates that live in relationships are illegal.

Tulsa vs. Durghatiya 2008(4) SCC 520

Long term relationship was considered equivalent to marriage.
Lata Singh vs. State of U.P. & Anr AIR 2006 SC 2522
Live-in-relationship is permissible only in unmarried major persons of heterogeneous sex.
• If a spouse is married, the man could be guilty of adultery.
• If the husband survives, the wife cannot invoke presumption of marriage the children
became illegitimate.

S. Khushboo v. Kanniammal AIR 2010 SC 3196

Supreme Court gave its landmark judgment and held that there was no law which prohibits
Live-in relationship or pre-marital sex. Living together is a right to life under Art 21.

D.Velusamy vs. D. Patchaiammal AIR 2011 SC 479

Merely spending weekends together or One night stand is not a live in relationship.
• Pre-requisites for a live in relationship:
1. The couple must hold themselves out to society as being akin to spouses.
2. They must be of legal age to marry.
3. They must be qualified to enter a legal marriage, including being unmarried.
4. They must have voluntarily cohabited for a significant period.
• If a man keeps women as a servant and maintains her financially and uses mainly for
sexual purposes, such relationship would not be considered as marriage in the court
of law.

Uday Gupta vs. Aysha and Another (Crl.) No. 3390 OF 2014
An unmarried couple living together under the same roof shall be presumed married.

- Protection of women from domestic violence Act, 2005 – has acknowledged live-in
relationships in Section 2(f).

Rights of female partner in a live-in relationship

Recommendation by National commission for women to include live in female partner for
the right to maintenance under Sec 125 Cr.P.C.

Abhijit Bhikaseth Auti v. State of Maharashtra and Others AIR 2009

A woman living in live-in-relationship may also claim maintenance under Sec.125 Cr.PC.

Malimath Committee (8th commission) recommended to amend the word ‘wife’ under
Cr.P.C. and include the woman living with the man like his wife.

Chellamma vs. Tillamma AIR 2009 SC 112

Status of wife to the female partner of live-in-relationship

Vidyadhari Vs Sukhrana Bai AIR 2008 SC 1420

Who have been in a live-in relationship for a reasonably long period of time can receive
property in inheritance from a live-in partner.

Koppisetti Subbharao Subramaniam vs. State of Andhra Pradesh AIR 2009

 • protected the live in female partner from harassment for dowry.
• Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005.
• Recognize the relationship in marriage.
• Not formally married but living with a male person in a relationship,
• Akin to wife, though not equivalent to wife
• Such partners can claim monetary and other reliefs in case of abuse or harassment
under the Act.

D.Velusamy vs D.Patchaiammal AIR 2011 SC 479

live-in relationship to come within the purview of the Domestic Violence Act (DV Act), 2005,
subject to fulfilment of some additional criterion.

• Rights of female partner in live in –

1. Right to claim compensation

2. Custody of child
3. Complaint against male partner and his relatives

Varsha Kapoor vs UOI & Ors 146 (2008)

Female living in a relationship in the nature of marriage has right to file complaint not only
against husband or male partner, but also against his relatives.

For a child born out of a live-in relationship, following rights are very important -
• Legitimacy
• Maintenance
• Property
• Custody

Legitimacy of children
Section 112 of the Indian Evidence Act- Provides Legitimacy – only if born out of a valid
marriage.
But Section 16 of HMA, provides legitimacy to even an illegitimate child for the purpose of
inheritance.

S. P. S. Balasubramanyum vs. Surruttayan 1992

First landmark case in which the Supreme Court upheld the legitimacy of the children born
out of live in relationships.

Radhika v. State of M.P AIR 1966 MP 134

man and woman are involved in live-in-relationship for a long period, they will be treated as
a married couple and their child would be called legitimate.

Tulsa vs. Durghatiya 2008

Child born from such a relationship will no more be considered as an illegitimate child, but
condition is that it should not be a “walk in and walk out” relationship.

Bharata Matha & Ors. vs. Vijaya Renganathan & Ors AIR 2010
child born out of a live-in relationship may be allowed to succeed in the inheritance of
the property of the parents (if any) and subsequently be given legitimacy in the eyes of the
law.

Uday Gupta vs. Aysha and Another 2014

The children born out of ‘live-in’ relationships are treated to be legitimate.

Property

Bharat Matha & Ors AIR 2010 SC 2685

Child born out of live in relationship may be allowed to succeed inheritance in the property
of the parents, if any but does not have any claim as against Hindu ancestral coparcenary
property.

Parayan Kandiyal Eravath Kanapravan Kalliani Amma (Smt.) & Ors. vs. K. Devi and Ors
(1996)
Unequal treatment to legitimate and illegitimate in the eyes of law can amount to violation
of Article 14.

Revanasiddappa vs. Mallikarjun (2011)

No child born from a live-in relationship of a reasonable period may be denied their
inheritance. Birth of the child out of any kind of relationship has been to looked
independently. Child born out of such relationships are innocent and should be granted
rights equivalent to rights given to child out of a valid marriage. That is what exactly is the
intention of section 16(3) of hma also.

Maintenance and custody

Maintenance:
• maintenance right granted to both legitimate and illegitimate kids u/d Hama.
• Maintenance to both legitimate and illegitimate child under Section 125 of Cr.P.C.

Dimple Gupta v Rajiv Gupta AIR 2010

Even an illegitimate child, who is born out of an illicit relationship is entitled to maintenance
under Section 125 of the Cr.P.C.

PV Susheela v Komalavally (2000)

The denial of providing maintenance to a child born out of a live-in relationship can also be
challenged under Article 32.

Custody:
• Sec. 6 Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956 father is the natural guardian of
his minor legitimate children whereas mother is given the first preference in case of
illegitimate child.

Gita Hariharan vs. Reserve Bank of India, AIR 1999

• Both, mother, and father have been accorded equal rights over the child.
• Custody will be decided based on facts and circumstances of each case.
Several judicial pronouncements of Supreme Court as well as High Courts held that child
born out of live in relationship are legitimate and entitle for all legal rights like child born out
of legal marriage.

Global perspective
• France: civil solidarity pacts 1999-allows couple to enter a union by signing before
court clerk.
• Philippines: The Family Code (Art. 147)
• Scotland: The Family Law Act, 2006 [Section 25 (2)]
• USA: Illegal in all states before 1970
Concept of palimony (maintenance of women in live-in relationship)

• Canada: Section 53 (2) and 54 (1) and of Family law Act, 1990
• United Kingdom: Live in couples do not enjoy legal sanction and status as granted to
married couple. No provisions for maintenance, inheritance of partners. Law seeks to
protect the rights of the child. Living together agreement for unmarried couple. Civil
partnership for The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community.
• Australia: The Family Law Act-de facto relationship.
• China: Contract made between partner, no legal procedure to end.
• Ireland: Legally recognized.
Legislation is applicable to same sex unmarried couples, couples from opposite sexes,
provided they have been cohabitating for at least 3 years.

Suggestions
• Live in relationship should be granted a legal status after a specific period of its
existence.
• Enact a separate branch rather than trying to bring live-in within the ambit of the
existing laws.
• Provide all the legal rights of maintenance, succession, inheritance as available to
married couple and their children irrespective of their religion.
• The female partner’s role to prove the burden of such relationship should be relaxed.
• Persons who enter a live-in relationship with a living spouse should be convicted for
bigamy.

(Uday Gupta vs Ayasha and Anr) -

• According to court, though live-in relationship has not been accepted in India, it is
neither illegitimate nor a sin. SC has asked parliament to amend or enact a separate
legislation so that women and children out of live-in relationships are protected.
• Neither statutory law support nor restrict such relationship.