THE MYTH OF LIVE IN RELATIONSHIPS IN INDIA

Abstract

This article draws attention towards a new social phenomenon of live-in relationships in India. Since the enactment of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, there has been a certain acknowledgement of the idea that live-in relationships have been given legal recognition in Indian legal system. This article challenges the above belief, naming it as a myth. While belief about the legal status of live-in relationships as a new social and legal phenomenon has entrenched its roots in judicial as well as scholarly discourses, the real situation, this article aims to argue, is rather different. Till date, there is no statute or judgment in India, which defines the term live-in relationships or grants legal recognition to it. The Apex Court has chalked out a distinction between „marriage‟ and „relationship in nature of marriage‟ to protect rights of women who find themselves in such intimate relationships which cannot be considered legally valid. However, this distinction, this article argues, is not about protecting rights of women in any new social phenomenon. Moreover, the above distinction has an undesirable effect of making definition of marriages narrow, which in turn is detrimental for the cause of women‟s rights in India.