‘It is not a crime for a married man to live in a live-in relationship with an adult’, Allahabad High Court bans arrest

Bureau Prayagraj- Allahabad High Court has given a big and clear decision regarding live-in relationship. The court has clearly said that if a married man lives in a live-in relationship with an adult woman against her will, then it cannot be considered a crime.

The court says that what morality says and what the law says, these two things are different. If no law has been broken, then no one can be prosecuted merely on the basis of social considerations. The court has stayed the arrest of the petitioner couple till further orders and has ordered the police to provide them security.

This order has been given by the Division Bench of Justice JJ Munir and Justice Tarun Saxena while hearing the criminal writ petition of petitioners Anamika and Netrapal. The court has ordered the police not to arrest him.

Along with this, the court has also given a strict warning to the family members of the woman (Anamika). No member of the family will cause any harm to this couple. They will neither enter their house nor try to contact them through phone, message or any third person.

In the matter of security, the court has held Shahjahanpur Police Captain (SP) personally responsible. The court said that it is the duty of the police to protect the couple. The Supreme Court has already made clear rules regarding this in the ‘Shakti Vahini’ case in 2018.

The court has directed the Registrar (Compliance) to send information about this order to the Superintendent of Police, Shahjahanpur and the Station Incharge of Police Station Jaitipur, both through the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Shahjahanpur, within the next 24 hours. Now the next hearing of this entire case will be on April 8.