Not against live-in, but can’t give protection if one partner is married: Allahabad HC

PRAYAGRAJ: The Allahabad high court on Friday observed that it is not against live-in relationships but cannot give protection when one of the partners is married. The court said this while granting police protection to a petitioner couple, who wanted to remain in a live-in relationship but subsequently married each other.
Allahabad high court denies cover to married woman and live-in partner
While partly allowing the writ petition of one Chhaya and her partner of Badaun district of Uttar Pradesh, a division bench comprising Justice Kaushal Jayendra Thaker and Justice Dinesh Pathak observed, “We are not against live-in relation. Earlier, we rejected a matter seeking protection by a couple who wanted to live in relation. The reasons were that the protection to live-in relation was sought for by the petitioners during subsistence of marriage of one of the petitioners.
"The present petitioners are a young couple, who want to have a relationship. It was conveyed that the said live-in relation has now converted into a marriage, as they have now entered into a wedlock in an Arya Samaj temple during the pendency of this writ petition.
"The petitioners approached this court on an apprehension that they would be harassed and would not be permitted to live in peace by private respondents, who are their family members," the court said.
While directing the police to provide protection to the petitioners, the court observed, “In this case, both the petitioners are of marriageable age. They wanted to live in relation but subsequently they have married each other. Hence, in view of the decision of the apex court in Gian Devi vs The Superintendent, Nari Niketan, Delhi and others (1976)3 SCC 234, Lata Singh vs. State of UP and another, (2006) 5 SCC 475; and Bhagwan Dass vs State (NCT of Delhi (2011) 6 SCC 396 and as per the government order dated August 31, 2019, the police shall grant them protection after verifying all the documents.
The HC had on June 15, 2021 dismissed the protection plea of a live-in couple, noting that the woman was already married and in a live-in relationship with another man. “We fail to understand how such a petition be allowed permitting illegality in the society,” the high court had observed while imposing a fine of Rs 5,000 on the couple.