A live-in which has been long lasting, will be considered as marriage according to the Supreme Court of India. Children born out of live-in are not illegitimate. A two Judge Bench headed comprising of Justices P. Sathasivam and B.S. Chauhan in its judgment delivered last week said “The live-in- relationship if continued for such a long time, cannot be termed in as "walk in and walk out" relationship and there is a presumption of marriage between them ..”

The Bench said, “If a man and a woman have been living under the same roof and cohabiting for a number of years, there will be a presumption under section 114 of the Evidence Act that they have lived as husband and wife and the children born to them would not be illegitimate.”

The petitioner’s (Madan Mohan Singh) father, Chandra Deo Singh lived with his live-in partner, Shakuntala till his death on December 12, 1979. Their relationship, as husband and wife, had been accepted not only by the society but also by the family members.

Chandra Deo Singh's children born out of the live-in relationship moved the authorities to include their names as legal heirs. The petitioner Madan Mohan Singh claimed there was nothing on record to show that Chandra Deo Singh got married with Shakuntala in accordance with law.

The respondent’s, Rajni Kant, Anjani Kumar and their four sisters contested Madan Mohan Singh’s claim, saying they too should inherit the property because they were born during Deo’s long-standing live-in with their mother Shakuntala.

Abhay Kumar, Advocate who appeared on behalf of Rajni Kant, argued that,“ Chandra Deo Singh and Smt. Shakuntala were living together for a long time. Their relationship as husband and wife had been accepted by the Society as well as the family members. In many official documents, name of Chandra Deo Singh has been shown as the father of the respondents. In the beginning, Chandra Deo Singh did not disclose the relationship with Smt. Shakuntala because of social conditions that the Society may not accept their relationship even after the death of his wife Smt. Sonbarsa. Both the respondents were born out of their relationship."

The petitioner Madan Mohan Singh’s engaged Senior Counsel Mahabir Singh said, “At the most she could be Singh's concubine and, therefore, the respondents have no right to inherit any share in the land.”

The Bench said, “The law presumes in favour of marriage and against concubine. However, the presumption can be disproved by “unimpeachable evidence.”

The Supreme Court dismissed petitioner Madan Mohan Singh’s appeal and mocked at the evidence submitted by Madan Mohan Singh. The Bench said, “If all the said documents are accepted, they would simply lead not only to improbabilities and impossibilities but absurdity also. It is most unfortunate that none of the courts below had analysed documents in correct perspective.”

This has rebutted the Delhi High Courts position of ruling a live-in, as a walk-in and walk-out relationship. The Supreme Court is definitely crossing barriers and thinking concurrently from case to case.

A copy of the judgement is available here

Please read: Live-in relationship takes a leap, Delhi High Court allows London Solicitor to walk-in and walk-out

Also read: Supreme Court says live-in relationships are fine but don’t expect ancestral property