A deserving blow to live-in relationship

The Supreme Court of India's observation regarding the live-in relationship between a man and a woman in which the apex court has set aside the earlier High Court verdict saying the man is not liable to pay for maintenance of his live-in partner is absolutely in order.

No way the court should give any kind of legal status to the live-in relationship as it is entered by a man or a woman with a selfish motif. After all, why should any girl or boy should enter in this relationship which has no recognition in our soceity? Why should they enter into such relationship instead of a tried and tested institution called marriage?

I am of the firm view that a live-in relationship amounts to a illegal sexual relationship between two agreeing partners entered just for sexual gratification. There is no compulsion for anybody to enter into such relationship which is bound to break one day or other. After enjoying life, and then asking for maintenance is no way in real good spirit of the game.

The Apex Court's ruling came in relation to a case of maintenance demanded by a woman who was in a live-in relation with a married man for 14 years. Earlier, the High Court had ordered that this woman be given maintenance against which the man had approached the Supreme Court.

A woman in a live-in relationship is not entitled to maintenance unless she fulfills certain parameters, the Supreme Court held while observing that merely spending weekends together or a one-night stand would not make it a domestic relationship.

A bench comprising Justices Markandey Katju and T S Thakur said that in order to get maintenance, a woman, even if not married, has to fulfill the following four requirements:

(1) The couple must hold themselves out to society as being akin to spouses.

(2) They must be of legal age to marry.

(3) They must be otherwise qualified to enter into a legal marriage including being unmarried.

(4) They must have voluntarily cohabited and held themselves out to the world as being akin to spouses for a significant period of time.

It is good that by pronouncing such ruling, the Apex Court has discouraged the wayward system called live-in relationship which is no less than a kind of a restricted prostitution.

Let us welcome the court order.