A significant ruling by the Supreme Court on Monday expanded the scope of Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), holding that the provision dealing with cruelty by a husband or his relatives will also apply to live-in relationships that are "in the nature of marriage", provided there is an established intent to marry.
A bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and N Kotiswar Singh ruled that a man in such a live-in relationship can be prosecuted for subjecting his partner to cruelty under Section 498A, which traditionally applies to cruelty by a husband or his relatives against a woman.
Clarifying the extent of the ruling, the bench said, "Section 498A is held to be applicable to 'live-in relationships' that qualify as 'relationships in the nature of marriage' with the intent to marry being established as an intrinsic part thereof; "The 'live-in relationships' protected by Section 498A, it is stated for ample clarity, are those that are between two consenting adult individuals. The proposition of law as laid down shall be limited to Section 498A IPC only, and this extended interpretation shall not affect any other provision," the bench said.
The court also underscored that the safeguards governing arrests under the provision must continue to be followed strictly. It directed that no person accused of cruelty in a relationship "in the nature of marriage", whether the live-in partner or his relative, should be arrested without preliminary inquiries.
Emphasising the rationale behind extending legal protection, the bench observed, "When a couple sets out on their journey, it is always, one presumes, with the best of intentions and to bring joyfulness of all forms. With the passage of time, however, some relationships may go down this troublesome path. The law must provide for the same.
"This distinction between 'married' and 'live-in relationship in the nature of marriage', in as much as it relates to the protection envisaged by Section 498A, has no rational nexus with the object of preventing domestic violence and is as such offensive to Article 14 of the Constitution of India," the bench said.
The judgment was delivered while answering the legal question of whether a man in a live-in relationship can be prosecuted under Section 498A of the IPC, 1860. The court concluded that such prosecution is permissible where the relationship bears the characteristics of a marriage, including an intent to marry, while limiting the interpretation exclusively to Section 498A.