The Rajasthan High Court, in a recent order, termed the live-in relationship between a man and a married woman as “illicit”, while denying the petitioner’s request for police protection.
The petitioners, a 30-year-old married woman and her 27-year-old live-in partner, had sought police protection, saying that they were being threatened by the respondents and their lives were in danger, claiming that the latter was unhappy with their relationship.
The single-judge bench of Justice Satish Kumar Sharma referred to the recent order of Allahabad High Court wherein the court had dismissed the protection plea a married woman living with her partner.
“It is clear from examining all the documents of both sides that petitioner number 1 is already married. She hasn’t got divorce but despite that, she is staying with petitioner number 2 in a live-in relationship. In such a scenario, the live-in relationship between the two comes under the category of illicit relationship,” says the order by the court of Justice Sharma, passed on August 12.
The order further said that granting police protection to the petitioners would “amount to indirectly giving permission/acceptance to such illicit relationships”, adding that if any crime is committed with the petitioners, the couple can approach the concerned police station or avail other available legal remedies.
Referring to a recent Allahabad High Court order in a similar case, the bench was quoted by Live law as saying, “…none law-abiding citizen who is already married under the Hindu Marriage Act can seek the protection of this Court for an illicit relationship, which is not within the purview of the social fabric of this country. The sanctity of marriage pre-supposes divorce. If she has any difference with her husband, she has first to move for getting separated from her spouse as per the law applicable to the community if Hindu Law does not apply to her.”