NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday clarified that Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code can also apply to live-in relationships that are in the nature of marriage, provided they involve consenting adults and carry an intrinsic intent to marry. The provision punishes a husband or his relatives for subjecting a woman to cruelty with up to three years’ imprisonment and a fine.
The ruling came while hearing appeals against the Karnataka High Court’s refusal to quash criminal proceedings under Section 498A and related charges. The accused argued there was no valid marriage and therefore the provision could not be invoked.
A bench of Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh held, “Section 498A is 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 bench further said, “The ‘live-in relationships’ protected by Section 498A are those between two consenting adult individuals.” It clarified that this interpretation would remain limited to Section 498A alone.
The court observed, “When a couple sets out, it is always presumed with the best intentions and to bring joy. But with time, some may go down a troublesome path. The law must provide for the same.” The bench said denying protection because a couple was in a live-in relationship lacking formal marriage had no rational nexus with preventing domestic violence and was offensive to Article 14 of the Constitution.
The court also said the initial burden of proof rests on the woman seeking protection. It directed strict compliance with the safeguards laid down in Arnesh Kumar (2014), especially where Section 498A is invoked by a woman in a relationship in the nature of marriage. The bench said, “We stress the need for strict compliance in cases where a woman in a live-in relationship in the nature of marriage takes recourse to law.”
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