Shraddha Walker Murder: Live-In Relationships Stigmatised, Expert Weighs In

With the gruesome murder case of Shraddha Walker, people, who were already skeptical of pre-marital cohabitation, have started questioning live-in relationships. Orthodox society has found a fresh new excuse to vilify couples who choose to live together out of wedlock conveniently ignoring the fact that domestic violence in married people also exists.

However, communities that believe in the concept of puritanism often put the onus of suffering on the woman or the person who has suffered and struggled because of their abusive partner.. Even in this case, the issue is not the nature of the relationship or the religious identities of the people involved. It is about patriarchy’s tacit endorsement of violence against women.

Not many know that our constitution recognises live-in relationships and that parties involved have individual rights too. We talked to Swaralipi Deb Roy, a Corporate Lawyer practising at the Delhi High Court and Supreme Court of India, about past judgements on live-in relationships in India.

Live-In Relationships Offer Freedom & Liberty To Couples

Roy shared, “Live-in relationships have been taken as an alternative to marriage, especially in metropolitan cities. Currently, the law is undecided of the legality of this relationship hence certain rights have been granted by which any of the partners won’t be abused or harassed.”

She pointed out that in metropolitan cities, more and more couples are choosing live-in relationships over marriage. In the coming years, it will be a trend accepted all over the nation, especially in urban areas.

In the old days, women were not financially independent and didn’t have authority over who they wanted to marry. However, more women are financially independent today, and people have clarity about what they want from a relationship. Therefore, many couples want to try live-in relationships before entering into a formal agreement to spend their life together.

Live-In Relationships Are Not An Offence Under The Law

In 2006, in the case of Lata Singh v. State of U.P, it was held that a live-in relationship between two consenting adults of the opposite sex, though perceived as immoral, does not amount to any offence under the law.

The Madhya Pradesh High Court recently termed the bane of live-in-relationship as a by-product of the Constitutional guarantee as provided under Article 21 of the Constitution and has observed that such relations promote 'promiscuity' and 'lascivious behaviour', giving further rise to sexual offences.

"Those who wanted to exploit this freedom are quick to embrace it but are totally ignorant that it has its own limitations, and does not confer any right on any of the partners to such relationship," the bench of Justice Subodh Abhyankar further remarked as it rejected the anticipatory bail of a 25-year-old man who had been accused of raping a woman, with whom he allegedly had a live-in relation.

Roy added that the interpretation of the relation and judgement in a case varies from judge to judge and case to case. There is no specific set of guidelines to which lawyers and judges can refer.

How Does Law See A Live-In Relationship

Roy, said that since live-in relationships are increasing in India as an alternative to marriage, it is defined as the cohabitation between adult parties who are not married. “It is a stress-free companionship without any legal obligations, but on the contrary, it has many legal liabilities and complications.”

Recently attempts have been made to bring it into the ambit of some laws. It is no longer an offence in India, and many guidelines pertaining to maintenance, property, and the legal status of a child have been issued in various decisions of the Apex Court. "Still, it is a debatable issue in our country. There are many grey areas which need appropriate attention like official documentation, cultural issues, property rights, will and gift rights, anti-religion status, LGBT community and so on," Roy said.

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Violence In Live-In Relationships

According to the Supreme Court, Sector 2 of the Protection of Women from Domestic ViolenceAct(2005), a woman in a live-in relationship with a male partner can be treated as an aggrieved person. Two parties involved in a live-in relationship must present themselves as spouses to society.

They must be of legal age and qualified to enter into a legal marriage. A couple must have voluntarily cohabited and presented themselves to society as spouses for a significant period. They must have resided together in a shared household as contemplated by this section.

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From past judgements, it is clear that a live-in relationship is not an offence and certainly does not give any rights to any of the parties involved to abuse their partner, mentally or physically. It is the choice of adults to live-in together before marriage or choose it as an alternative to marriage. When the apex court does not judge adults for their choices, what gives society the right to do so?

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