Live-In Love: Legal Protection Triumphs over Tradition

The Allahabad High Court ensured protection for 12 live-in couples, highlighting the entitlement of adults in such relationships to life and liberty protection, regardless of their marital status. The court underscored that legality and fundamental rights triumph over societal norms and granted detailed instructions for police response.

The Allahabad High Court has ordered police protection for 12 live-in couples who reported threats from their families and received insufficient police support. Justice Vivek Kumar Singh emphasized that adults in live-in relationships are entitled to state protection of life and personal liberty.

The court observed a surge in similar cases, where couples claimed local police failed to assist, leading them to seek help from the judicial system. Addressing whether the lack of formal marriage affects constitutional protection, the court asserted that the right to life and liberty stands above the marital status of citizens.

The court clarified that while societal norms may differ, legal rights are unaffected by these variations. It ruled that live-in relationships, though unconventional to some segments of Indian society, are not illegal. Thus, the state must protect individuals' choices to reside with partners of their choice post-majority age.

(With inputs from agencies.)