Live-in relationship akin to marriage, parents can’t interfere: Delhi HC
Delhi HC Rules Live-in Couples Hold Full Autonomy Over Their Lives
The Court's Core Holding
Bharatmorningnews.com – On August 13, a bench of the Delhi High Court, headed by Justice Saurabh Banerjee, issued an order affirming that two consenting adults who choose to cohabit enjoy the same fundamental freedoms as a married pair. The judge granted police protection to a couple whose partner's family had been issuing repeated threats of violence, and made clear that no parent, relative, or friend holds any authority to obstruct the couple's decision to live together.
In the order, the judge emphasized that the Constitution guarantees fundamental rights to every individual, and that imposing "societal morals and prejudices" on such rights amounts to stripping a person of their individualistic identity. Marriages, the court noted, are acknowledged regardless of the caste, creed, colour, religion, or faith of those involved.
"Since the petitioners have willingly, consensually and with utmost responsibility chosen to enter into a live-in relationship with each other, nobody, be it their parents/ relatives/ friends, have a right and/ or authority to cause any hinderance and/ or interfere with their choice thereof, much less threaten their life and/ or liberty."
The Couple's Situation
The petitioners, both in their 30s, told the court they had been cohabiting "for a while" and planned to formalize their union through marriage. Their arrangement, however, drew sustained hostility from the woman's father and brother, who repeatedly threatened physical harm. After filing a complaint with the local Station House Officer and receiving no response, the couple approached the High Court seeking protection.
"The petitioners herein are though in a live-in relationship, are not legally married to each, however, being consenting adults, the same is akin to marriage."
Broader Legal Context
The order invoked Supreme Court precedent establishing that adults retain an unfettered right to reside together even absent a formal wedlock. The court further observed that this right now carries full legal sanctity and has been codified by the legislature through instruments such as the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, which extends protections to relationships that fall outside the traditional marital framework.
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