The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday (13th November) ruled in an important decision that a couple living together without getting a divorce from their previous marriage cannot be categorized as being in a “live-in relationship” or an association similar to marriage. The court went on to say that such an arrangement would constitute bigamy under Sections 494/495 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
“It seems that the purpose of this petition is to avoid criminal prosecution for adultery… The real intention behind this petition is to seek validation from the court for their actions,” the court noted.
Justice Kuldeep Tiwari made these remarks while dismissing an appeal filed by a Punjab couple seeking court protection. The couple claimed that their relationship was putting their lives in danger. The duo also stated that they were adults and that the female was born in January 2002 and the male partner was born in 1996.
The couple stated that they had been in a “live-in relationship” since September 2023 and that while the male partner’s family approved of their relationship, the female partner’s relatives were against it and threatened them. Fearing for their safety and freedom, the couple petitioned the High Court for protection.
The court noted during the hearing that the male partner was already married and had a two-year-old daughter. He hadn’t gotten a divorce from his current wife. According to the court, “the male partner is engaging in a lustful and adulterous life with the female partner without obtaining a valid divorce from his previous spouse, which may constitute an offence punishable under Sections 494/495 (bigamy) of the IPC.”
Furthermore, the court dismissed the couple’s allegations of life-threatening threats as unsubstantiated and lacking in detail.
