Prayagraj, March 29 Is it illegal for married men and women to live together?
The Allahabad High Court took two seemingly different positions in two separate cases recently, but experts believe that since the "context" and the relief sought by the appellants were different, the orders were also different.
A bench comprising Justices JJ Munir and Tarun Saxena, in its order dated March 25, provided relief to one such couple, stating that no offence was made out.
"There is no offence where a married man lives with an adult woman in a live-in relationship with the consent of the other person," the court said, and stayed the arrest of the petitioners pending further orders.
A few days earlier, a single judge bench of Justice Vivek Kumar Singh, while hearing a case related to a live-in relationship, had said that if a married person is in a live-in relationship, the court cannot issue any writ or direction for protection to the petitioners, as the live-in relationship was continuing without obtaining a decree of divorce from any competent court.
However, Justice Vivek Kumar Singh said that if the petitioners are disturbed or subjected to any act of violence, they may approach the Senior Superintendent of Police concerned by submitting a detailed application.
Rakesh Pande, President of the Allahabad High Court Bar Association, while speaking to