SC extends Section 498A protection to live-in relationships ‘in nature of marriage’

The Supreme Court ruled that Section 498A of the IPC applies to live-in relationships "in the nature of marriage", extending protection against cruelty to women in such unions while directing that safeguards, including preliminary inquiries before arrest, must be strictly followed

New Delhi: Expanding the scope of Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, the Supreme Court on Monday held that the provision, which deals with cruelty by a husband or his relatives, would also apply to partners in live-in relationships.

A bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and N Kotiswar Singh said a man in a live-in relationship can be prosecuted for subjecting a woman to cruelty if the relationship is “in the nature of marriage”. Section 498A refers to a woman’s husband or his relatives subjecting her to cruelty.

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“Section 498A is held to be applicable to ‘live-in relationships’ that qualify as ‘relationships in the nature of marriage’ with the intent to marry being established as an intrinsic part thereof; “The ‘live-in relationships’ protected by Section 498A, it is stated for ample clarity, are those that are between two consenting adult individuals. The proposition of law as laid down shall be limited to Section 498A IPC only, and this extended interpretation shall not affect any other provision,” the bench said.

The top court said the safeguards against arrest and other factors shall be strictly applied and no person in a relationship “in the nature of marriage” having been accused of committing cruelty against a woman, being either the live-in partner “in the nature of marriage” or his relative, shall be arrested without preliminary inquiries.

The top court said that not a single person goes into a relationship knowing or anticipating that cruelty may be meted out to them. “When a couple sets out on their journey, it is always, one presumes, with the best of intentions and to bring joyfulness of all forms. With the passage of time, however, some relationships may go down this troublesome path. The law must provide for the same.

“This distinction between ‘married’ and ‘live-in relationship in the nature of marriage’, in as much as it relates to the protection envisaged by Section 498A, has no rational nexus with the object of preventing domestic violence and is as such offensive to Article 14 of the Constitution of India,” the bench said. The judgement came while dealing with a question whether a man who is in a live-in relationship can be prosecuted under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.