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HC verdict on live-in relationships: In a landmark judgement, the Kerala High Court has held that a woman who is not legally married to her partner cannot be prosecuted for cruelty under Section 498A of the IPC. The court gave this verdict on Thursday after quashing the proceedings against the petitioner, who was the live-in partner of the complainant woman.
The court ruled that, “The most essential element for an offence punishable under Section 498(A) of the IPC is that the woman has been subjected to cruelty by her husband or the relatives of her husband. The term 'husband' means a married man to whom a woman is married. By marriage a man acquires the status of husband of a woman. If a man becomes the partner of a woman without a valid marriage, he cannot be termed as a 'husband' under Section 498(A) of the IPC.
The allegation was that the applicant mentally and physically tortured the woman from March 2023 to August 2023 when they were in a live-in relationship. The court said that to prosecute an offence under Section 498A, it is necessary that the offence of cruelty is committed by the husband or the relatives of the husband. It said that a man who is the spouse of a woman without a legal marriage cannot be prosecuted under Section 498A.
It is worth noting that the Punjab-Haryana High Court had given an important decision last month. The Punjab-Haryana High Court has issued an important order clarifying that if a woman is rich and capable, she cannot claim maintenance from her husband. This is a welfare system aimed at saving a helpless wife from a state of deprivation after separation from her husband and enabling her to live an equal life. This should not be allowed to become a means of harassing the husband. Along with this, the High Court also rejected the woman's maintenance application.
