CRITICAL ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION OF LAWS RELATED TO GENDER BIASES IN LIVE-IN RELATIONSHIPS IN INDIA
THE LAWWAY WITH LAWYERS JOURNAL VOLUME:-26 ISSUE NO:- 26 , AUGUST 26, 2025 ISSN (ONLINE):- 2584-1106 Website: www.the lawway with lawyers.com Email: thelawwaywithelawyers@gmail.com Authored By : Prachi Barot CRITICAL ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION OF LAWS RELATED TO GENDER BIASES IN LIVE-IN RELATIONSHIPS IN INDIA. ABSTRACT Live-in relationships in India, once considered a social taboo, have gradually gained judicial recognition. However, they remain largely unregulated by comprehensive statutory frameworks. While existing legal provisions—such as the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, and the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955—offer significant protections to women in live-in relationships, there is a notable absence of similar legal protections for men and other genders, raising concerns about gender-based disparities in legal treatment. This paper critically examines the current legal framework, focusing on key statutes, landmark judicial decisions, and the constitutional principles of equality enshrined in Articles 14, 15, and 21 of the Indian Constitution. It explores issues such as gender bias in maintenance rights, protection from abuse, and legal recourse for false accusations, while addressing counterarguments rooted in the historical vulnerability of women. Drawing upon comparative legal perspectives from jurisdictions like the United Kingdom and Australia, the paper proposes a gender-neutral legislative approach that ensures equal legal recognition, protections, and remedies for all individuals in live-in relationships. The suggested reforms aim to harmonize Indian law with constitutional mandates and contemporary social dynamics, fostering a more equitable legal environment for all genders in such relationships. Keywords: Live-in relationships, gender bias, maintenance rights, domestic violence, comparative family law, constitutional equality. INTRODUCTION In India’s evolving social landscape, love and relationships increasingly navigate the complex intersection of tradition and law. Live-in relationships, once largely a private matter, are now recognized by the courts, though they continue to be met with social resistance. However, beneath this legal recognition lies a nuanced issue: the legal framework often affords greater protection to one gender, creating disparities and uncertainties for the other. The concept of live-in relationships is gaining increasing acceptance in India, yet there remains a lack of comprehensive legal recognition or regulatory framework to govern such relationships. While not classified as illegal or criminal, live-in relationships are often perceived as contrary to traditional Indian values and customs. In Indian context, live-in relationships generally refer to couples who cohabit under a roof with mutual consent, carrying out all the household responsibilities, without being wedded. There is no particular and exact legal definition of live-in relationships but it can be termed as : “An arrangement of living under which the couples which are unmarried live together to conduct a long-going relationship similarly as in marriage.”1It can be understood as an arrangement 1 Sanjay.Kumar Sah,’Live-in Relationship: Laws in India’(Legal Services India E-Journal,) <http://legalservices.co.in/blogs/entry/Live-In- Relationship> Accessed 22 May 2024 whereby a couple or two consenting adults opt to live together on a long term basis in an emotionally and/or sexually intimate relationship in a close association. BACKGROUND The formal acknowledgement and recognition of the live-in relationship concept is through the recent times, when the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, was passed and came into force, extending legal protection to the women who cohabit or reside with their partners without marriage and who are the victims of domestic violence which is considered as similar to the ones suffered by women in marriages. India first recognized the concept of live-in relationships, in 2010, when the Supreme Court passed the historic decision that ‘ live-in relationships are not illegal and immoral ‘ in the case of “Khushboo vs Kanniammal”2. It also stated that two consenting adults in a heterogeneous relation have a right to cohabit together like a married couple without getting married. In another landmark case of 2015 of Velusamy vs. D. Patchaiammal3 The Supreme Court held that long- term live-in relationships can be considered as or similar to a valid marriage under certain circumstances and situations where the woman is also entitled to maintenance from her partner in case of separation. Further , in the case of “Indra Sarma vs V.K.V. Sarma.”4The Supreme Court, by further enlarging and elaborating the rights of women , held that women in a live-in relationship are entitled to maintenance after separation from their partners even though live-in relationships are not recognised and considered as valid marriages in the view and eyes of the Indian laws. The Indian law doesn’t promote or support pre-marital sex. LEGAL STATUS OF LIVE-IN IN INDIA Live- in Relationships are not explicitly recognised in India. It is also not considered as illegal or a criminal offence rather it has been given recognition by the Supreme Court as valid relationships thereby providing the couples certain rights and protections cohabiting in a live-in relationship. In terms of rights individuals in a live-in relationship do not carry the same rights as married couples. 2 Khushboo vs Kanniammal AIR 2010 SC 3196 3D.Velusamy vs D.Patchaiammal AIR 2011 SC 479 4 Indra Sarma vs V.K.V.Sarma AIR 2013 SCW 6783 LAWS GOVERNING THE PROTECTION AND WELLBEING OF WOMEN IN A LIVE-IN RELATIONSHIP The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 states that even if live-in relationships are not recognised as valid marriages in India, still the women cohabiting in a live-in relationship has a right to seek maintenance from their partners in case of separation, only if she is able to prove that the relationship is similar to a marital relationship. Domestic Violence Act, 2005, protects the women against violence and abuse in a live- in relationship. Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Rules, 2006, provides for the procedure to file application for the protection orders, residence orders, and monetary reliefs by the women in a live-in relationship. As per the Indian Penal Code, in case of a live-in relationship, offences like rape, adultery, and bigamy are provided, available and dealt with as criminal offences under the criminal liabilities. The Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956, says that a woman in a live-in relationship is entitled to the