Adult Male Under 21 Can't Marry But Can Live With Consenting Partner: Punjab & Haryana HC
An adult male under the legally marriageable age of 21 can live with the consenting partner outside wedlock with a woman who is above 18 years of age said the Punjab and Haryana high court last week. The courts remarks were in line with a Supreme Court order in May 2018 that adult couples can live together without marriage. In India there are no laws governing live-in relationships but they arent illegal.
An adult male under the legally marriageable age of 21 can live with the consenting partner outside wedlock with a woman who is above 18 years of age, said the Punjab and Haryana high court last week.
The court's remarks were in line with a Supreme Court order in May 2018 that adult couples can live together without marriage.
The high court was making an observation while hearing a plea for protection by a couple in a live-in relationship from Punjab's Gurdaspur district.
Representational Image
Both are above 18 years -- the age a woman can legally marry. Men also lawfully become adults at 18, but cannot marry before 21, per the Hindu Marriage Act.
According to a report by The Times of India, the couple approached the high court for protection, alleging threats from their families over their relationship.
The couple feared that their families might murder them.
¡°It is the bounden duty of the state as per the constitutional obligations cast upon it to protect the life and liberty of every citizen. The mere fact that the petitioner No. 2 (man) was not of marriageable age would not deprive the petitioners of their fundamental right as envisaged in the Constitution, being citizens of India,¡± Justice Harnaresh Singh Gill observed.
The judge directed the Gurdaspur SSP to take a decision on the couple's request and grant protection of them.
Representational Image
In India, there are no laws governing live-in relationships but they aren't illegal.
Live-in relationship between consenting adults is legal under the Indian law if the requisites of marriage such as legal age of getting married, consent, and soundness of mind are fulfilled. No law allows or denies such relationships.
In the case of Khushboo v. Kanaimmal and Anr, the Supreme Court held that living together is a right to life covered under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution; thus, despite being considered immoral by society it is not an offence in the eye of law.
