Cohabitation in India

Last updated

Cohabitation in India is legal. It is prevalent mostly among the people living in metro cities in India.

Contents

Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 recognizes “relationship in the nature of marriage” and protects female partners from domestic violence. Such partners can claim monetary and other reliefs under the Act. [1]

In S. Khushboo Vs. Kanniammal & Anr., [2] the Supreme Court of India, placing reliance upon its earlier decision in Lata Singh Vs. State of U.P. & Anr., [3] held that live-in-relationship is permissible only in unmarried major persons of heterogeneous sex. The Supreme Court on 13 August 2010 in the case of Madan Mohan Singh & Ors v. Rajni Kant & Anr. [4] has once again entered the debate on legality of the Live-in Relationship as well as legitimacy of Child born out of such relationship. The Court while dismissing the appeal in the property dispute held that there is a presumption of marriage between those who are in live-in relationship for a long time and this cannot be termed as 'walking-in and walking-out' relationship. In the case of Bharata Matha & Ors v. R. Vijaya Renganathan & Ors. [5] dealing with the legitimacy of child born out of a live-in relationship and his succession of property rights, the Supreme Court held that child born out of a live-in relationship may be allowed to succeed inheritance in the property of the parents, if any, but doesn't have any claim as against Hindu ancestral coparcenary property.

The Delhi High Court in its decision on 10 August 2010, in Alok Kumar v. State & Anr [6] while dealing with the validity of live-in relationship held that "‘Live-in relationship’ is a walk-in and walk-out relationship. There are no strings attached to this relationship, neither this relationship creates any legal bond between the parties. It is a contract of living together which is renewed every day by the parties and can be terminated by either of the parties without the consent of the other party and one party can walk out at will at any time."(Para 6)

The Supreme Court in the case of D. Velusamy v.D. Patchaiammal [7] held that a ‘relationship in the nature of marriage’ under the 2005 Act must also fulfill the following criteria:

(a) The couple must hold themselves out to society as being akin to spouses.
(b) They must be of legal age to marry.
(c) They must be otherwise qualified to enter into a legal marriage, including being unmarried.
(d) They must have voluntarily cohabited and held themselves out to the world as being akin to spouses for a significant period of time, and in addition, the parties must have lived together in a ‘shared household’ as defined in Section 2(s) of the Act. Merely spending weekends together or a one-night stand would not make it a ‘domestic relationship’. It also held that if a man has a ‘keep’ whom he maintains financially and uses mainly for sexual purpose and/or as a servant it would not, in our opinion, be a relationship in the nature of marriage’.

On a notable context, though cohabitation is made legal in India, it is still a subject of taboo in many parts. Patriarchy is deeply entrenched while the courts and society promote the monolithic view of a family and this needs to transformation. [8] Such couples have sometimes faced threats from the outer circle and their families concerned to an alarming state of being. For example: in 2016, a Mumbai-based live-in couple committed suicide after their family opposed their marriage in Andheri east area of the city. [9] One of the most notable books written in contemporary Indian English regarding the aforementioned subject is in 2014 by Kajol Aikat called Unsocial Amigos, [10] which is about how two young adults go in a live-in relationship in an Indian semi-urban socio-economic setup and its rooted consequences upon the grounds of moral policing.

Related Research Articles

Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not married, usually couples, live together. They are often involved in a romantic or sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. Such arrangements have become increasingly common in Western countries since the late 20th century, being led by changing social views, especially regarding marriage, gender roles and religion.

Divorce is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the bonds of matrimony between a married couple under the rule of law of the particular country or state. It can be said to be a legal dissolution of a marriage by a court or other competent body. It is the legal process of ending a marriage.

Common-law marriage, also known as non-ceremonial marriage, sui iuris marriage, informal marriage, de facto marriage, or marriage by habit and repute, is a legal framework where a couple may be considered married without having formally registered their relation as a civil or religious marriage.

The Domestic Violence Offender Gun Ban, often called the "Lautenberg Amendment", is an amendment to the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act of 1997, enacted by the 104th United States Congress in 1996, which bans access to firearms by people convicted of crimes of domestic violence. The act is often referred to as "the Lautenberg Amendment" after its sponsor, Senator Frank Lautenberg. Lautenberg proposed the amendment after a decision from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, involving underenforcement of domestic violence laws brought under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. President Bill Clinton signed the law as part of the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 1997.

A domestic partnership is a relationship, usually between couples, who live together and share a common domestic life, but are not married. People in domestic partnerships receive legal benefits that guarantee right of survivorship, hospital visitation, and other rights.

Landmark court decisions, in present-day common law legal systems, establish precedents that determine a significant new legal principle or concept, or otherwise substantially affect the interpretation of existing law. "Leading case" is commonly used in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth jurisdictions instead of "landmark case", as used in the United States.

Australian family law is principally found in the federal Family Law Act 1975 and the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Rules 2021 as well as in other laws and the common law and laws of equity, which affect the family and the relationship between those people, including when those relationships end. Most family law is practised in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia and the Family Court of Western Australia. Australia recognises marriages entered into overseas as well as divorces obtained overseas if they were effected in accordance with the laws of that country. Australian marriage and "matrimonial causes" are recognised by sections 51(xxi) and (xxii) of the Constitution of Australia and internationally by marriage law and conventions, such as the Hague Convention on Marriages (1978).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Family Law Act 1975</span>

The Family Law Act 1975(Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia. It has 15 parts and is the primary piece of legislation dealing with divorce, parenting arrangements between separated parents (whether married or not), property separation, and financial maintenance involving children or divorced or separated de facto partners: in Australia. It also covers family violence. It came into effect on 5 January 1976, repealing the Matrimonial Causes Act 1961, which had been largely based on fault. On the first day of its enactment, 200 applications for divorce were filed in the Melbourne registry office of the Family Court of Australia, and 80 were filed in Adelaide, while only 32 were filed in Sydney.

Common-law marriage, also known as sui juris marriage, informal marriage, marriage by habit and repute, or marriage in fact is a form of irregular marriage that survives only in seven U.S. states and the District of Columbia along with some provisions of military law; plus two other states that recognize domestic common law marriage after the fact for limited purposes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scots family law</span>

Scots family law is the body of laws in Scotland which regulate certain aspects of adult relationships and the rights and obligations in respect of children.

India does not recognise registered marriage or civil unions for same-sex couples, though same-sex couples can attain rights and benefits as a live-in couple as per a Supreme Court of India judgement in August 2022.

Cohabitation in the United States is loosely defined as two or more people, in an intimate relationship, who live together and share a common domestic life but are neither joined by marriage nor a civil union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tort law in India</span> Aspect of Indian law

Tort law in India is primarily governed by judicial precedent as in other common law jurisdictions, supplemented by statutes governing damages, civil procedure, and codifying common law torts. As in other common law jurisdictions, a tort is breach of a non-contractual duty which has caused damage to the plaintiff giving rise to a civil cause of action and for which remedy is available. If a remedy does not exist, a tort has not been committed since the rationale of tort law is to provide a remedy to the person who has been wronged.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dowry system in India</span> Overview of the dowry system in India

The dowry system in India refers to the durable goods, cash, and real or movable property that the bride's family gives to the groom, his parents and his relatives as a condition of the marriage. Dowry is referred to dahez in Hindi and as jahez in Urdu.

Palimony is the division of financial assets and real property on the termination of a personal live-in relationship wherein the parties are not legally married. The term "palimony" is not a legal or historical term, but rather a colloquial portmanteau of the words pal and alimony. Nevertheless, numerous "secondary" legal sources refer to the term, and attempt to describe its influence and implications upon actual statute law.

<i>Goold v Collins and Ors</i> Irish Supreme Court case

Goold v Collins and Ors [2004] IESC 38, [2004] 7 JIC 1201 is an Irish Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled that a statutory provision's constitutionality may be reviewed only at the behest of a litigant who is contesting some current application of that provision.

S. Muralidhar is an Indian Judge. Presently, he is Chief Justice of Orissa High Court. He is former Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. He was initially appointed as a Judge to the High Court of Delhi in May 2006. He assumed the office of Judge at the High Court of Punjab and Haryana on 6 March 2020.

<i>Arun Kumar v. Inspector General of Registration</i> Indian LGBT Rights Case Law

Arun Kumar &Anr. versus Inspector General of Registration&Ors. (2019) is a landmark decision of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court where the court recognised transwomen as bride under Hindu Marriage Act of 1955.

<i>Ujjawal v. State of Haryana</i> Indian LGBT Rights Case

Ujjawal &Anr. versus State of Haryana&Ors.(2021) is a case where Punjab and Haryana High Court refused to provide protection to a same-sex couple to protect the "social fabric of the society".

References

  1. Sections 2(a), 12 read with Sections 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22.
  2. JT 2010 (4) SC 478
  3. AIR 2006 SC 2522
  4. (Civil Appeal No. 6466 of 2004, decided on August 13, 2010) (Paras 19-22)
  5. (C.A. No. 7108 of 2003; Decided on 17-05-2010)
  6. "Alok Kr. v. State (Cr. M.C. No. 299/2009, decided on August 9, 2010)" (PDF). High Court of Delhi. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 25 August 2010.
  7. CRIMINAL APPEAL NOS. 2028-2029 Of 2010
  8. Nigam, Shalu (2023). "Violence against women in Live-in relationships and the legal safeguards". SSRN. doi:10.2139/ssrn.4315618. S2CID   256484254. SSRN   4315618 . Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  9. "Mumbai: Family opposes marriage, live-in couple commits suicide".
  10. "Fighting bullies with book".