Recently the Punjab and Haryana High Court dismissed a petition regarding a live-in relationship. The first petitioner was married against her will to one of the respondents, and the two had a child out of wedlock. She fell in love with petitioner No. 2 because she was dissatisfied with her marriage. She stated that her spouse used to torment her psychologically and physically while staying at their marital house.
Because the woman was already married to another person, the Punjab & Haryana High Court refused to issue directives to the state to provide police protection to a couple in a live-in relationship. As a result, she left and entered into a live-in relationship with the second petitioner.
The court was informed that the husband and his family members had begun threatening the couple with ending their relationship and that the petitioners feared violence from the respondents. On August 13, they lodged a complaint with the Superintendent of Police, but no action was taken, causing them to go to the High Court.
However, Justice Sant Parkash ruled that the petition should be denied, citing the fact that the first petitioner had not obtained a valid divorce from her husband, making the relationship between the two petitioners “unholy.” Furthermore, the Court noted that the petitioners had not submitted any evidence to support their baseless charges against the defendants. As a result, the petition was denied.
Similar judgements by the Rajasthan High Court and the Allahabad High Court have preceded this development.
Last Monday, the Rajasthan High Court refused to offer police protection to a couple in a live-in relationship, claiming that granting protection to the couple would imply the court’s approval of such unlawful relationships because the woman was already married.
