Live-in without divorce adultery, punishable: HC

In a landmark judgment, the Allahabad High Court held that live-in relationship of a married woman with another man is ‘illegal’ under the law and amounts to criminal act for which the man can be charged with polygamy and adultery.

A 2-member bench of the Allahabad HC, comprising Justice SP Kesharwani and Justice YK Srivastava on Monday pronounced the verdict on a petition by a married woman Asha Devi and her live-in partner Arvind Kumar to seek protection from HC on their live in relationship. Asha Devi is married to Mahesh Chandra. Relations between the man and the wife soured after a few years of marriage. The couple then started living separately. Later, Asha Devi started living with Arvind Kumar in Hathras. Her husband and relatives objected to their livein relationship. Fed up with their harassment, they filed a plea in HC, seeking protection and to end their ordeal.

After hearing the arguments, the 2-member bench rejected the petition on the ground live-in relationship of a married woman with a man was not as per law and rulings of the SC. “The woman is married and not divorced. But she is living with another man like a married couple. It is a criminal act for which the man can be charged for adultery and polygamy under IPC sections 495 and 496,” ruled the bench.

The bench observed the court cannot protect anyone for an act, illegal in the eyes of the established law. Their act was against the definition of the live in relationship defined by law and the SC. It is no live in relationship but an act of adultery by both.

It ruled anyone living with a married person after changing the religion is also illegal under the law. “The man can be tried for having illicit relationship.”

The court cannot use its power against established law. “Law gives protection to victims not to those who commit criminal acts. Giving protection to criminals would amount to supporting crime,” pointed the bench, rejecting the petition.