Live-in Relationship Vs Marriage

Are we finally seeing the rapid decline of the "old-fashioned" institution of marriage? In a significant ruling recently, the Supreme Court said a long-term live-in relationship was as good as marriage. Indeed, live-in relationships are slowly but surely acquiring a more important status, both socially and legally. What does that mean for a society where matrimony holds center stage? Sandhya Gokhale and Mihir Desai, who have been in a live-in relationship for 23 years, vouch that marriage has more complications than advantages.

They believe that love binds them more than family pressures would have. "Wedlock means subscribing to societal norms, where I will be recognised as someone's wife or daughterin- law," says Gokhale, a Mumbai-based software consultant. Her partner, Desai, strongly supports Gokhale's views. "If we decide to part ways, we can do it without getting involved in litigation or succumbing to family pressure," says Desai, a human rights lawyer.

But the fact is that with legal rights still a far cry for those in a live-in relationship, practicalities still do tilt the scales in favour of marriage. The Supreme Court's bold rulings on live-in relationships and pre- marital sex notwithstanding, the law is yet to recognise a live- in relationship as marriage.

"Though live-in relationships come under the ambit of the Domestic Violence Act and Right to Maintenance Act, there is still a long way to go," says Supreme Court advocate Priya Hingorani. Property rights, and adoption and child custody issues are yet to be addressed, she says.

Live-in relationships do bring with them a clutch of complications, no matter the freedom they offers. Questions arise over what happens to a child born in a live- in relationship? Would an ended relationship render a partner homeless? Says Meenakshi Lekhi, Supreme Court lawyer: "Putting live-in and wedlock at par dilutes the sanctity of marriage. There is no status called 'almost married'. There can't be any ad hocism in a contract like marriage."

There are other pertinent issues too. "A woman in a live- in relationship comes under the ambit of the Domestic Violence Act and right to maintenance as long as there isn't a second relationship involved. The question then would be: Who is in a relationship with whom? If a married man enters into a live- in relationship, only the legal wife is eligible for benefits, the second woman gets none. So between the two women, who supersedes who? That's the debate," says Lekhi.

Courtesy: Hindustan Times