Cohabitation of Married Man with consenting Adult Woman in Live-in Relationship Does Not constitute any Offence under Law, rules HC

The Allahabad High Court has delivered a constitutionally grounded ruling that a married man living with a consenting adult woman in a live-in relationship commits no offence under Indian law, and that social morality has no place in a court's decision to protect citizens' fundamental rights. A Division Bench of Justice JJ Munir and Justice Tarun Saxena granted immediate protection to a Shahjahanpur couple facing death threats and honour killing fears from the woman's family, while placing the district's Superintendent of Police under direct personal accountability for their safety.

The trouble began when the woman's family lodged an FIR alleging that the man, already married, had lured away their 18 year old daughter through false pretences, and further argued before the court that cohabitation with a married man was itself a criminal act. The woman, however, had independently approached the Shahjahanpur SP in writing, asserting that she was an adult acting entirely of her own free will, a complaint the police sat on without taking any action. Both petitioners feared honour killing at the hands of the woman's family, who had issued explicit death threats. The family doubled down before the bench, pressing their moral objection as a legal one, a position the court was having none of.

The bench dismantled the family's argument with precision, drawing a firm constitutional line between what society disapproves of and what the law actually prohibits. The court's observation was unequivocal, "There is no offence of the kind where a married man, staying with an adult in a live-in relationship, by consent of the other person, can be prosecuted for any offence, whatsoever. Morality and law have to be kept apart. If there is no offence under the law made out, social opinions and morality will not guide the action of the Court for protecting the rights of citizens." 

Taking serious note of the SP's failure to act on the woman's written complaint, the bench reminded state authorities that protecting adults in live-in relationships is a fundamental police obligation, not discretionary. The Court admitted the petition, issued notices to respondents, granted the couple a stay against arrest in the FIR registered under Section 87 BNS at Police Station Jaitipur, restrained the woman's family from any physical or electronic contact with the couple, and held the Shahjahanpur SP personally responsible for the petitioners' safety until further orders.