Youths drawn to live-in relationships to escape responsibility, must find ways to save moral values: Allahabad High Court

Lucknow: In a significant observation, the Allahabad High Court has said that though the live-in relationships does not have any social sanction, some framework and solution to save the moral values in the society must be made as the youths are getting attracted to such relationships rapidly.

A single bench comprising Justice Nalin Kumar Srivastava made this observation while granting bail to a person who was charged with establishing physical relationship with a woman on the false pretext of marrying her. The accused was arrested and was denied bail by the lower court. He then approached the High Court challenging the order.

‘’We are living in a changing society…the moral values and the normal conduct of the young generation in the family, society or at their workplace is changing swiftly….so far as the live-in relationship is concerned, it has got no social sanction but since the youth is attracted to such relations because a young person, male or female, can easily escape from his / her liability to his / her partner, their attraction is rapidly increasing in favour of such relations,’’ the court said.

‘’ It is high time when we all should think over it and try to find some framework and solution to save the moral values in the society,’’ it added.

The court said that the facts and circumstances of the case and keeping in view the nature of the offence, evidence, complicity of the accused, severity of punishment and also keeping in view that the prosecutrix was a major and the consensual relationship made between the two, the Court was of the opinion that the appellant had made out a case for bail.

The Court below erred in rejecting the bail application of the appellant. The impugned order suffered from infirmity and illegality and the same was liable to be set-aside and the appeal was liable to be allowed, it said.