Live-In Relationship Is Not Marriage, Can't Seek Divorce Says Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has held that live-in relationships are not legally recognised as marriage, and thus, such couples cannot seek divorce.

The court observed that in live-in relationships, two parties decide to live together under a mere agreement not based on personal law or the Special Marriage Act.

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Law doesn't recognise live-in relationships

¡°The law is yet to recognize the live-in relationship as a marriage. The law accords recognition only if the marriage is solemnized in accordance with the personal law or in accordance with secular law like the Special Marriage Act. If the parties decide to live together by virtue of an agreement, that by itself will not qualify them to claim it as a marriage and claim divorce thereon," a division bench of Justice A Muhamed Mustaque and Justice Sophy Thomas noted.

The Court said that divorce is only a means of separating a legal marriage and while live-in relationships may be recognised for other purposes, it is not recognised for divorce.

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Not legally married, can't seek divorce

"The law recognises divorce as a means of separating a legal marriage. There may be a situation where the relationship qualifies for the creation of reciprocal obligations or duties elsewhere. But that does not mean that such a relationship can be recognised for the purpose of divorce,¡± the Court said.

Parties can be allowed to divorce only if they are married per the recognised form of marriage, the bench stated.

"A divorce is peculiar in our country and customised through legislation. The extra-judicial divorce followed in some communities also got recognition through statutory laws. All other forms of divorce are of statutory nature,¡± the court added.

What is the case?

The order came in a plea filed by an inter-faith couple who had been in a live-in relationship since 2006.

PEXELS

Though they lived as husband and wife and had a child, they had never registered their marriage under the Special Marriage Act.

As they no longer wanted to continue their relationship, they had moved the family court with a joint petition for mutual divorce under the Special Marriage Act.

However, the Family Court refused to grant them divorce because they were not married under the Special Marriage Act.

Following this, the couple approached the High Court, challenging the Family Court's order.

The HC noted that the Family Court does not have jurisdiction to entertain such a divorce claim and held that the plea was not maintainable.

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