Live-in ties must be legalised: Experts

A 33-year-old Bengaluru woman has filed a complaint against her live-in partner for not fulfilling his promise of marrying her. The incident has raised questions about the legal rights of live-in partners. 

While there is no legal framework for such relationships, Article 21 of the Indian Constitution “guarantees the right to life and personal liberty which has now been extended to consenting adults living together without tying the knot,” says advocate Indra Dhanush. 

Women in such relationships can seek protection under Section 2(f) of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 and maintenance under Section 144 (1)(a) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. “Courts have also considered children born from such relationships as legitimate children with rights to inheritance,” he adds. 

Common among migrants

Dhanush and other advocates share that they have witnessed a sharp increase in cases pertaining to live-in relationships in the last decade. In most cases, the clients are migrants, whose families do not reside in Bengaluru. “Usually the women feel cheated because they enter into a the relationship after the man promises marriage. When the man backs out, they file a criminal complaint under Section 69 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). It criminalises sexual intercourse by deceitful means, including false promise of marriage,” he explains.

Dhanush has also taken on cases of domestic violence, maintenance, child custody, inheritance, cheating and rape for clients in live-in relationships. 

Call for legal framework

Roshini Muthukumar, a 29-year-old communications professional, was in a live-in relationship with her then-boyfriend Navin Kumar for two years before they got married in 2024. Though they did not face too many problems during the two-year period, they always felt uncertain of the future and hence put off investing in larger purchases as a couple. “Because there is no legal framework specifically for live-in relationships, we were not sure what the future would bring. Buying a car, property or even large appliances was out of the question,” Roshini shares, adding that a law that recognises such relationships, such as ‘civil union’ or ‘domestic partnership’ in other countries, is much needed in India. The law gives the partner legal rights such as hospital visitation and right of survivorship.  

More often than not, the parents of the couple are unaware of their arrangement. This contributes to anxiety, insecurity and other mental health issues, therapists say. Counsellor Sunil John says that 60-70% of his clients are in live-in relationships and enjoy the freedom it gives them. “It is so common and I think it should be normalised,” John states.  

Psychotherapist, Kala Balasubramanian, says, in her experience, couples in live-in relationships typically fall under two categories — those who want to try out living together before deciding to tie the knot, and those who start living together with no intentions of getting married. “In the case of the former, things tend to go sour when one person checks out. Though they come for therapy there is no resolution,” she says.

However, most often, the couples in therapy are willing to work through the relationship and usually, their problems are sorted out. However, the lack of a legal framework is a major challenge, she notes.