A Law To Regulate Live-In Relationships
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2024-02-07 07:35:16
About the Author
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack
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Apart from other clauses that are likely to raise concerns for a variety of reasons, the fact that registration of live-in relationships has been made mandatory in the Uttarakhand UCC bill is a big concern. The bill provides that a registrar will be appointed to record all live-in relationships. It mandates that all persons in live-in relationships within Uttarakhand, as well as all residents of the state temporarily living outside, must make a "statement of live-in relationship" to the registrar.
The bill defines a live-in relationship as a relationship between a man and a woman cohabiting "in a shared household through a relationship in the nature of marriage". The definition makes it clear that it is meant only for heterogeneous couples but does not define 'a relationship in the nature of marriage'.
The registrar will verify the relationship after receiving the statement by conducting an inquiry within 30 days. In the inquiry, the registrar will examine if the relationship is not barred by Clause 380 of the bill which prohibits live-in relationships where at least one of the partners is already married or already in another live-in relationship or is a minor. It also prohibits live-in relations between partners related by blood or marriage as well as when the consent of one of the partners is obtained by to coercion or misrepresentation. The registrar will issue a registration certificate to the couple if the validity of the relationship is confirmed. If the couple terminates their relationship, they will have to obtain a termination certificate from the registrar. The registrar will forward all statements of live-in relationships or its termination received by them to the officer in charge of the police station under whose jurisdiction the couple lives. The registrar's office will also inform the parents or guardians of the partner about the relationship/termination if one of them is below the age of 21 years.
By their very nature, live-in relationships are private and basically with no strings attached. The partners in such a relationship may want to keep it a secret from others and may not want to commit to anything. Although it is good to prevent married men and women or minors from entering into such relationships, the provision to inform the parents if a partner is below 21 years of age is disturbing as it invades the privacy of consenting adults (18 years and above). Also, despite such relationships getting the approval of courts, social stigma is still there.
Hence, asking for couples in such relationships to register them and involving the local administration and police will mean that these couples will be harassed unnecessarily. The positive side of the law is that if the relationship is registered, the couple may not be harassed, may get some benefits (like getting a place to live on rent by showing the registration certificate, for instance) and have limited legal sanction for their relationship under the act (although most live-in couples would not be interested in the same). But it is still disturbing that the government wants to invade the private space of consenting adults by enacting such a law and the small benefits which may accrue are no compensation for the invasion of privacy. Hence, there must be further discussion on the provisions of the bill before it is passed by the assembly.
