By Shalini Tyagi
‘The chain of wedlock is so heavy that it takes two to carry it – and sometimes three.’ – Alexandre Dumas
Marriage (also called matrimony or wedlock) is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It’s an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged. Marriage includes family obligations, legal establishment of a nuclear family unit, legal protection of children and the public declaration of commitment.
Many cultures limit marriage to two persons of the opposite sex, and in some cultures, marriage is recommended or compulsory before pursuing any sexual activity.
The act of marriage usually creates normative or legal obligations between the individuals involved. Therefore in the last couple of decades an increasing amount of couples have chosen to live together rather than enter into a state of matrimony. Live-in relationship is the arrangement in which a man and a woman live together without getting married.
Meaning of Live-In-Relationship
Live-in relation i.e. cohabitation is an arrangement where two people decide to live together on a long-term or permanent basis in an emotionally and/or sexually intimate relationship. The term is most frequently applied to couples who are not married.
The legal definition of live-in relationship is an arrangement of living under which the couple which is unmarried live together to conduct a long-going relationship similar as in marriage.
The Delhi High Court in Alok Kumar v. State & Anr. made interesting observations about live-in relationship. The High Court observed inter alia as under:
‘Live in relationship is a walk in and walk out relationship. There are no strings attached to this relationship neither this relationship creates any legal bond between the parties, it is a contract of living together which is renewed every day by the parties and can be terminated by either of the parties without consent of the other party and one party can walk out at will at any time. Those who do not want to enter into this kind of relationship walk-in and walk-out, they enter into a relationship of marriage, where the bond between the parties has legal implications and obligations and cannot be broken by either party at will. Thus, people who chose to have live-in relationship cannot complain of infidelity or immorality as live-in relationships are also known to have been between married man and unmarried woman or between a married woman and an unmarried man.’
In the Western world, a man and a woman who lived together without being married were once socially shunned and persecuted and, in some cases, prosecuted by law. In some jurisdictions, cohabitation was illegal until relatively recently.
Psychologist Dr. Galena Rhoades said: ‘There might be a subset of people who live together before they got engaged who might have decided to get married really based on other things in their relationship – because they were already living together and less because they really wanted and had decided they wanted a future together. We think some couples who move in together without a clear commitment to marriage may wind up sliding into marriage partly because they are already cohabiting. Many cohabiting couples may also end up getting married due to pressure from their parents.’
De facto Marriages
De facto marriage is a term used to define the relationship between a couple who is not legally married, yet meets the civil requirements for marriage. Whether the relationship is legally recognized as a marriage typically depends on the jurisdiction in which the couple resides.
Reasons for Live-In-Relationship
The reasons that bring people into live-in relationships are multifarious ranging from physical to economic and several other categories. Commonly these would include wanting to test compatibility with one another or to establish financial security before marrying.
People may live together for a number of reasons. These may include wanting to test compatibility or to establish financial security before getting married. They might see cohabitation as a way of being single, they do not consider themselves as single but they are neither looking for a spouse.
It may also be because they are unable to legally marry, due to reasons such as the same sex; some interracial or interreligious marriages are not legal or permitted. Other reasons include living as a way for polygamists to avoid breaking the law, or as a way to avoid the higher income taxes paid by some two-income married couples, negative effects on pension payments, or philosophical opposition to the institution of marriage, i.e. seeing little difference between the commitment to live together and the commitment to marriage.
- Lifestyle: Today, a girl and a boy, either in an educational institution, or a workplace, or pub, a discotheque, etc., get ample opportunity to know and spend time with each other. This boosts the chances of them to enter into a live-in relationship.
- Age of Marriage: Earlier, the average age of marriage among Indians was quite low. A person was married at a very tender age and, therefore, there was really no chance for him/her to enter into a live-in relationship. But today, with the gradual increase in the age of marriage, there is abundant opportunity for a person to live-in.
- Economic Independence: Youngsters, especially in urban areas, are becoming more and more economically independent. Thus, their dependence on their respective families has considerably reduced, which in turn allows them to ignore the diktats of their families regarding their personal lives.
- Away from home: Many people, either for the purpose of education, job, etc, live away from their homes. Thus, they are not subject to the immediate control of their families.
- Urbanization: In the rural areas, every person is subject to strict social control; his conduct is always under the scrutiny of the fellow villagers. But as far as cities are concerned, there is no such control as no one is interested in the personal life of a person. Thus, there is ample freedom for a person to live as he likes.
- Social Hurdles: This is true in the case of a couple belonging to different religions, castes or classes, marriage between whom is still not approved by the society at large.
Live In Relationships in India
Centuries ago, civilized societies recognized and acknowledged the most basic instincts of all – i.e., the need for companionship – and founded an honourable institution known as marriage. Hindu ancestors set out some guidelines to make sure that the institution is a permanent one capable of not only bringing happiness to two young people but also providing a delicate balance so that the family enjoys the fullness of life within the framework of what they called Dharma, the Hindu code of right conduct.
This may sound like a newly discovered concept by modern psychologists but an ancient Hindu prince known as Yudhishtira revealed this ‘secret’ about 4000 years ago. In an episode known as Yaksha Prashna, in the Aranya Parva of the great epic, the Mahabharata, one of the questions the Yaksha asked Yudhishtira was: ‘kim svin mitram grhesatah?’ i.e. who is the friend of a householder? To which the prince answered ‘bhaarya mitram grhesatah,’ i.e. the friend of a householder is his spouse. ‘The wife is half the man, the best of friend, the root of the three ends of life, and of all that will help him in the other world, with a wife a man does mighty deeds, with a wife a man finds courage, a wife is the safest refuge.’
The concept of live-in relationships is relatively new in India. In fact, India is still looked by the world as a country where marriage occupies a sacramental position both philosophically and practically.
However, in the last five decades India has slowly opened its doors for western ideas and lifestyles and one of the most crucial episodes amongst it, is the concept of Live-in relationships.
In ancient India, though the marriage was a general norm, the Hindu scriptures describe and admit the existence of premarital relationships as well. According to Manu, premarital relationships existed both in the Vedic period and afterwards, but was a rare occurrence.
This concept of live-in relationship is not new in India; in ancient times it was known as maitri-karar in which a written agreement was made between the two opposite sex that they would live together as friends and look after each other. Also, Gandharva marriage, i.e. one of the eight Hindu marriages, has incidents which are quite similar to that found in a live-in relationship.
Recently, the Delhi High Court ruled that there are no legal binds in a live-in relationship. They have been described as ‘walk-in and walk-out relationships’ where there are ‘no strings attached.’ A few days later, the Supreme Court overruled this decision, stating that live-ins can be presumed as marriage if they are continued for a long time.
With the courts interpreting differently, it can be hard for people in live-in relationships to understand what their rights are. In fact, the law is very fluid on the issue of live-ins as there is no special law to deal with the concept and its legality.
Courts in India, through their decisions in various cases, have laid down the law in respect of such relationships. Some of the important points of the courts in this regard are:-
Premarital Sex and Live-In Not an Offence
The Fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India grants to all its citizens ‘right to life and personal liberty’ which means that one is free to live the way one wants. Live-in relationship may be immoral in the eyes of the conservative Indian society but it is not ‘illegal’ in the eyes of law.
Presumption of Marriage
Section 114, Indian Evidence Act, 1872, lays down that where independent evidence of solemnization of marriage is not available, it will be presumed to be a valid marriage by continuous cohabitation between the parties unless the contrary is proved. In Gokal Chand vs. Parvin Kumar, the Supreme Court held that continuous prolonged cohabitation raises a presumption in favour of marriage, and against concubinage.
Legitimacy of Children
A necessary corollary of making a presumption in favour of a marriage is the presumption of legitimacy of child born out of such relationship. In Mst. Loli and Others vs. Mst. Durghatiya and Ors., it was held that in the case of a live-in relationship, not only does the law presume in favour of a valid marriage, but also it deems the child born out of such a relationship to be legitimate. The Court also held that such children will have the rights in their parent’s property.
The same approach was adopted by the Supreme Court in a recently delivered judgment in the case of D. Velusamy vs. D. Patchaiammal.
Maintenance
The courts have also conferred to a woman in a live-in relationship the right to claim maintenance.
In Abhijit Bhikaseth Auti vs. State of Maharashtra and Ors., the Supreme Court also observed that it is not necessary for woman to claim maintenance under section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. A woman in a live-in relationship may also claim maintenance.
Application of the Domestic Violence Act, 2005
The Domestic Violence Act is an Act enacted with the object of protecting women against Domestic Violence. The effect of Section 2(f) of the Act is that it brings within its ambit even the violence caused under a live-in relationship.
Conclusion
The judgments mentioned above had caused great furore and were subjected to severe public anger, they were seen as a step to demolish the culture and tradition of India and to encourage the western concept of live-in relationship.
But few do realize that these judgments have not acted as an incentive to live-in relationship, but as a discouraging factor. An analysis shows that the characteristics of live-in relationship which attracts people towards it are lack of responsibility, freedom and lack of commitment. But the judgments of the courts in India have attached several responsibilities to the said relationship in the form of maintenance, presumption of marriage, legitimacy of children.