Punjab And Haryana High Court : Contain Growing Instances Of Live-In Relationships Among Teenager

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has addressed the issue of lack of legal statutes to govern the live-in-relationships as the trend emerges more and more in the society.

The single-judge bench of Justice Amol Ratan Singh in this backdrop while dealing with a slew of petitions seeking protection of life and liberty while co-habiting in a live-in-relationship has sought the Centre’s response on measures being taken to prevent adolescents with impressionable minds from living together.

The Court was informed by the Additional Solicitor General that as per his instructions in fact an amendment to the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 has been proposed, with a Bill already produced in Parliament for that purpose, to bring the marriageable age for females also up to 21 years of age (from 18 years), to bring them on par with males.

The Court noted that as regard to live-in relationships, no such bill has been introduced so far. 

"The problem which is now coming up before courts is that adolescents between the ages of 18 and 21 years of age are coming up seeking protection of life and liberty upon being live-in relationships/or seeking to be in live-in relationships with protection to be granted to them."

As to what is proposed, to try and ensure that many adolescents with impressionable minds (not actually fully matured though they otherwise, technically, are of the age of majority in terms of the aforesaid Act), do not start living together and later start regretting such decisions, obviously also causing trauma to their parents and family."