Live-in relationships: India

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Live-in relationships

Live-in relations gain traction

Courts Progressive, But Careful While Defining Relationships

Smriti Singh TNN 2013/07/03

The Times of India

A live-in relationship is an arrangement of living where the couples which are unmarried live together to conduct a long-going relationship similarly to marriage. In 2010, the SC in its landmark judgment had opined that a man and woman living together without marriage cannot be construed as an offence. “When two adult people want to live together what is the offence. Does it amount to an offence? Living together is not an offence. It cannot be an offence,” a three judge bench of Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, Deepak Verma and B S Chuhan said in S Khushboo’s case.

Legal experts say the meaning of a live-in relationship should be understood with due caution. “The courts have been careful whenever they have interpreted live-in relationships. They do not talk about short-term arrangements but a longstanding commitment where the man and woman stay and share the same framework as that of marriage. The courts have time and again given clarity on that, and that for me is a fair amount of progressive view,” said senior lawyer Pinky Anand.

Where others countries stand

SCOTLAND

Live-in relationships are legally recognized as cohabitation. The law takes into account not only the length and nature of a couple’s relationship but also their financial arrangements. If the relationship breaks down, either partner has the right to seek financial support from the other

CANADA

A live-in couple has the option to enter into a legal agreement concerning the ownership and division of property, obligations regarding financially supporting each other, and the education and moral training of their children, but not the custody of children

AUSTRALIA

The family law act recognizes a live-in arrangement as a “de facto” relationship when the two parties are not married or related by family but have been living together as a couple on a “genuine domestic basis”

FRANCE

A civil solidarity pact, commonly known as a PACS, is a form of between two adults (same-sex or oppositesex) for organizing their joint life. It brings rights and responsibilities, but less so than