GUWAHATI: The Allahabad High Court recently observed that live-in relationships lack social sanction and stressed the need for a legal framework to safeguard “moral values” in society.
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Justice Nalin Kumar Srivastava noted that the younger generation’s moral conduct was changing rapidly, and live-in relationships were gaining popularity due to the absence of binding obligations. “It is high time we all think over it and try to find out some framework and solution to save moral values in society,” the court remarked.
The observations were made while granting bail to a man accused of raping his former live-in partner under the false pretext of marriage. The victim alleged that the accused had maintained a relationship with her for six years with a false promise of marriage and had also caused her abortion.
The accused, however, argued that their relationship was consensual and denied any promise of marriage. He also contended that the police had wrongfully invoked provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, as he had not committed any offence based on the victim’s caste.
The court, considering the consensual nature of the relationship, granted him bail. It ruled that the lower court had erred in rejecting his bail plea, stating, “The impugned order suffers from infirmity and illegality and is liable to be set aside.”
