Editorial: Live and let ‘live-ins’ live

Fundamental rights of citizens cannot be eclipsed by social disapproval or hollowed out by stigma

The right of adult individuals to choose their partners and decide on the nature of their relationship is inviolable. It must be seen as being integral to the right to life and liberty. Unfortunately, in India, the idea of a couple living together without marriage is largely frowned upon. Many see it as an immoral act and an affront to cultural values. A live-in relationship is branded as a violation of traditions and cultural values. Marriage is widely seen as a life-long commitment, while live-ins are seen as an abdication of responsibilities. Against this backdrop, the Allahabad High Court’s recent ruling that live-in relationships are not illegal and that the state is bound to protect every citizen is a heartening development. Maintaining that the consenting adults have the constitutional right to live together with dignity and safety, irrespective of marital status, the court directed the Uttar Pradesh police to provide protection to 12 live-in couples facing threats from their families. The court rightly emphasised that Article 21 of the Constitution guarantees the right to life, dignity, and personal freedom to all individuals, including those in live-in relationships. The fundamental rights of citizens cannot be eclipsed by social disapproval or hollowed out by stigma. It is a welcome development that the court places individual autonomy above majoritarian morality or inherited anxieties. The Allahabad court judgment comes at a time when there is a growing tendency to police intimacy, with inter-faith and inter-caste couples frequently facing hostility, coercion and violence from families and communities, often with no help from institutions meant to safeguard their freedoms.

In several rulings in the past, the Supreme Court had pushed back against moral vigilantism, affirming the right of consenting adults to choose their partners without intervention from society or the state. Despite this, there is a legal vacuum regarding the rights of parties who cohabit informally. There is no law to ensure the protection of rights for the parties in a live-in relationship, and for the status of children born to such couples. Ideally, the law must recognise adults as rights-bearing citizens, not wards to be steered towards socially approved choices. In many countries, there is a legal recognition of prenuptial agreements, cohabitation, civil unions, and domestic partnerships. But, in India, live-in partners face a plethora of problems, including difficulties in having joint accounts, insurance and visas. There is no specific law about live-in relationships, nor is it recognised by the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. In June 2018, the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) barred couples in a live-in relationship from adopting a child, after its Steering Committee held that cohabitation without marriage is not considered a stable family. Partners in a live-in relationship do not enjoy a right of inheritance to the property of their partner. The Hindu Succession Act, 1956, does not specify the succession rights of the partners in a live-in relationship.

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