Can living-in with your partner without registration land you in trouble?

Adults in romantic partnerships living together without marrying is a fairly common practice. It is also recognised legally in India. Several courts have held that an adult citizen has the right to cohabit with their partners, irrespective of marriage. However, recently, some states have made it necessary to register a live-in relationship with the state authorities. Since January, 2025, it is mandatory for couples to register themselves if they are living together in Uttarakhand under the Uttarakhand Uniform Civil Code Rules, 2025 (‘UCC’). The Rajasthan High Court has directed the state government to launch a framework by March, 2025 to enable couples in live-in relationships to register themselves. 

In this Weekly, we throw a spotlight on the changes in the laws on live-in relationships in different parts of the country. 

Are live-in relationships legal in India?

Unlike marriage,  live-in relationships are not explicitly covered in any law. But, several judgements of the Supreme Court of India as well as the different High Courts have held that live-in relationships are legal in India. 

In the landmark judgment of the Supreme Court in Lalita Toppo v. State of Jharkhand & Anr. (2018), the right to life and personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution was held to include the right of an adult citizen to live with their partners of choice with or without being married to them. 

This was further echoed in the 2020 order by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in the case of Priyapreet Kaur &Anr. v. State of Punjab & Ors., where it was highlighted that “every adult has a right to live their life as they desire and their family members cannot order how and with whom they spend their life.”

In the recent case of X v. State of Madhya Pradesh (2024), the High Court of Madhya Pradesh extended protection to a couple living-in. It reaffirmed their right to choose whom to live with. The order also highlighted that the law entitles a woman in a live-in relationship protection from domestic violence under the 2005 Act, maintenance under section 144 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and also deems children born out of live-in relationships as legitimate. 

Besides these judgements, Section 2(f) of the Protection of Women From Domestic Violence Act, 2005 recognises any relationship in the “nature of marriage”. This includes a live-in relationship as a “ domestic relationship” and extends protections guaranteed under the act to any woman in such a relationship. 

What are the recent legal developments around live-in relationships?

1. Uttarakhand

In January 2025, the state of Uttarakhand enforced the UCC which governed marriage, divorce, succession, live-in relationships etc. Under section 378 of this new law, the residents of Uttarakhand are required to submit a ‘statement of live-in relationship’ to the state appointed registrar within 30 days of entering into a live-in relationship. 

The registrar upon verifying the statement, including the age of the parties, their marital status, nature of consent etc., must enter the details in the state register and issue a certificate of registration to the parties.  

The law mandates that failure to register your live-in relationship can lead to punishments like three months’ jail time and a fine up to Rupees 10,000 or both. 

In the first 10 days since its implementation, 1 live-in relationship was registered under the new law. 

2. Rajasthan

In the recent case of Reena v. State of Rajasthan (2025), the Rajasthan High Court, observed that while in the eyes of law, live-in relationships are not illegal or against the law, there are social and moral concerns around it. Further, there are inconsistencies within different personal laws while determining the status of live-in relationships. While Hindu law does not mention live-in relationships at all, Muslim law forbids it. So the Court held that it was essential to make a law to comprehensively deal with the legalities around live-in relationships. 

In the meantime, the court issued certain directives to the state of Rajasthan: 

1. A competent authority of the state government must create a framework which will enable live-in couples to register themselves.
2. The framework must obligate male partners to provide for non earning female partners and children in live-in relationships.
3. They should launch a web portal to enable live-in couples file complaints and grievances and district level tribunals must be established to redress such grievances. 

The court has ordered the government to comply with these directives by March, 2025. 

Currently, these orders are only relevant to the states of Uttarakhand and Rajasthan and do not apply to live in couples elsewhere.