Sunday 13 May 2018

Legalising the live in relationship

The Supreme Court has recently pointed out that two consenting adults have a right to live together without marriage in a case where a woman whose had been annulled. The Court asserted that she had a right to choose with whom she wanted to live with. The Court held that live in relationship have a legal status and have found a place under the provisions of the Domestic Violence Act, 2005. In the present case, the marriage of the appellants had been annulled because the man was not yet 21 years of age, the legal age for marriage under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, at the time of the marriage. The Court observed that even if the appellants were not competent to enter into wedlock at the time of marriage, being adults, they have the right to live together even outside the wedlock. The Court pointed out that a court cannot interfere in the marriage of two consenting adults and cannot annul a marriage.