Have you ever wondered that in today’s era, when we see that two people either it be male and female or lesbian couples or gay couples lives together in a house without marriage is legal or illegal?
So, in our country, Live-In Relationships are not a crime at all. The Supreme Court of India in a judgment of Nand Kumar vs. The State of Kerala held that if the individuals i.e. the female and the male have attained the majority age i.e. 18 years then both the adults can live together in a relationship.
Live-In relationships actually mean that when two people come together and live together in the same house while performing each and every duty and responsibility that is being performed in marriage but the only difference between Live-In relationships and marriage is that in Live-In relationships two individuals live together without marriage. As above mentioned, the case of Nand Kumar vs. The State of Kerala is a very important case in the matter of Live-In Relationship. In this case, a girl more than the age of 18 years and the boy who was less than the age of 21 years married to each other, the father of the girl filed a case in The Supreme Court of India pleaded that the boy is underage as the legal age for boys to marry is 21 years. The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India declared the marriage void because they also did not have any proper proof of marriage and also the boy was underage and after observing this the Supreme Court declared the girl to live with her father. After the boy attained the age of 21 years, he filed the plea that the legal age for marriage is 21 years but as per the Right to live with liberty. So. after hearing this Supreme Court decided that the valid date for marriage is 18 for the girl and 21 for a boy but if two people want to live together with each other voluntarily then they are legally safe to live together after attaining the age of 18 for both male and female and Supreme Court also held that no one can stop them to do the same.
What will happen if the male with whom the female was in Live-In Relationship and she had to face domestic violence?
For this, there is a provision under the Domestic Violence Act for the Live-In Relationship for the victim of domestic violence in Live-In Relationship that the accused will get equal punishment as mentioned for the Domestic violence in marriage and will also give the women Maintenance. If children is born in Live-In Relationship, then both the partners will grow the child in the same manner as a husband and wife do in a marriage and the child will also be liable to get the property of his parents and will not be considered as an illegitimate child.
