Live In Relationship , Contract Marriage , Adoption and Womb Renting Are The Future : Should Not Be Meddled By Courts or Government : Let Individuals Have Basic Freedom To Select and Decide On Their Life .
Rajiv Upadhyay
We are living in times of rapid social change. The new social needs of people are divergent and often contradictory . The institution of marriage needs a review because many urban women do not want to live traditional devoted housewife life. But they also do not want to lose the security , easy and better life provided by the traditional marriage and manipulate husband after marriage by misusing the arbitrary and one sided hindu marriage and alimony laws . This has put too much pressure on men thus increasing stress and reducing their happiness and testosterone levels . This is reducing their age , disease resistance and causing many premature deaths.
In India Maitri Karars are in vogue in Gujrat for many decades. Shraddha murder has led to wrong clamor against live in relationship ignoring the Nithari case of Pandher and Koli who killed and ate meat of young boys. They have been sentenced to death in several cases but are still alive .
A super rich Priyanka Chopra uses some womans womb to give birth to her baby from her husband by IVF. She chooses career over baby . Karan .Johar fathers a boy and girl from unknown mother possibly a foreigner and uses womb of some other woman in surrogacy. Elon Musk’s five boys came via IVF and last girl through surrogate mother . He thinks west should use these techniques to solve declining population problem . He may not be wrong.
In India , for centuries, Nikah is a documented contract marriage amongst Indian muslims where divorce or alimony and other terms are decided at the time of marriage . The system has worked well as divorces are very few and the real muslim family life is quite stable . This needs to be emulated by careerist men and women . Facebook owner Marc Zuckerberg had divorce terms included in the marriage contract signed before marriage. India is the only country where courts and government have totally spoilt Hindu marriage by one sided laws following the western propaganda about women liberation . Now more and more man will opt for live in relationship or Maitri Karars as marriage is becoming increasingly risky proposition for successful men . A torturous marriage with an ultra feminist greedy woman , just for sexual satisfaction is not worth the risk. Even AI driven robotic sex toys will play vital role in future. Even working women will prefer Live in Relationship with passage of time . They too have almost equal but undisclosed sexual needs .But the fear is that with passage of time our hyper active courts will spoil these and impose a sex tax on men in all such relations misusing and generalising some Shraddha type exceptional cases . An active campaign to prevent courts from taking away men’s freedom needs to be launched .
Man and woman are independent human beings who used to hunt and feed for themselves individually . No male animal supports female for life . Female look after children only till they can gather food independently .Human beings existed long before the institution of marriage came into existence . The universal popularity of the current system of marriage and strict religious rules came into existence with the development of the agricultural societies . Due to agriculture ,one man could produce much more food than his personal need and could support a family .Women also preferred a settled easy domestic life . In addition women got safety and man got peaceful orderly life as he did not have to fight for female for sex. For promoting peace and development and welfare of children strict laws of marriage were incorporated in all religions which demarcated the role and jobs of men and women . Men got dominance and woman got safety and both cherished what they got for thousands of years. But science changed it all with the development of family planning techniques. Freedom from conception lead to feminine demands of other freedoms thus challenging the traditional marriage.
But why should men suffer life long torture or pay for sex in a joyless marriage. Why should he pay any alimony to a non traditional house wife ? Why ‘Honey trapping ‘ and such marriage by blackmail not be a criminal offence? She should fend for herself ! Alimony is making women misuse marriage for avoiding their responsibility. Modern women want to live an irresponsible platform type life due to Facebook , WhatsApp and shopping malls while neglecting the children and family . Old parents of husband are the worst sufferer and are being exploited by such women . They should use their saving including house for getting the services they need rather than depending on children . Children , both girls and boys are the responsibility of parents not husbands or in laws. Parents should inculcate the right values from childhood , discourage ultra feminism , not neglect the training of girls in house hold work before marriage and inculcate good family values. Law makers should give men his freedom and distinguish between अबला और सबला नारी .
However my personal preference is for the original uncorrupted form of enduring life long hindu marriage as I find it enormously satisfying but it has been destroyed so much that its restoration may not be possible. It is also best for development of children .
Time has come to go back to drawing boards again and rewrite the marriage laws without interference of courts and vote bank politics.
EXCLUSIVE: Is live-in relationship legal in India? Moral police blame it in Shraddha murder case, but law says THIS
– Zee News
Aftab Amin Poonawala, 28, has been accused of murdering his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar, 26, and chopping her body into 35 pieces to hide his crime. The gruesome killing, which is being investigated by the Delhi Police, has shocked and stunned the nation. Apart from facts, several theories have been floating around in social media about the motive and background of the crime. Several moral policemen also jumped on the bandwagon and went on to denounce live-in relationships. Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs, Kaushal Kishore, has said live-in relationships are “giving rise to crime” and suggested that educated girls should not get into such relationships. There have been others like cleric Tauqeer Raza Khan from Uttar Pradesh who also said live-in relationships can be blamed for crimes.
An old picture of Shraddha Walkar and Aftab Amin Poonawala in happier times
In India, even though live-in relationships are being increasingly embraced in urban areas, overall such relationships are looked at with suspicion and judgment. Many people even claim that these are illegal. So where do the laws stand when it comes to live-in relationships? Zee News Digital spoke to legal experts and this is what they had to say on live-in relationships.
The legal rights of a live-in partner in India: Know details
Satya Muley, constitutional law expert practicing at the Bombay High Court and Supreme Court, points out that many a time, our society confuses between the concepts of ethical and legal. “When we evaluate live-in relationships, the current position is that as per social norms such an arrangement is looked upon as unethical. However, there is nothing in Indian law that prohibits or permits two consenting adults of any caste/religion to enter a live-in arrangement, therefore such an arrangement is not illegal. On the contrary, there is no explicit law which governs or regulates the live-in relationships,” says Muley.
Muley adds that it cannot be ignored that “such arrangements stem out of the fundamental right to life and liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.” This leads us to a controversial area about the rights of live-in partners. Muley says, “For the first time the Indian Judiciary in 1993 held that if a man and woman have resided together for a long duration, the law, under Section 114 of Indian Evidence Act 1884, shall assume them to be legally married unless anything contrary is proved. Children born out of such relationships are considered legitimate and entitled to inherit their parents’ property as per provisions of the Hindu Marriage Act and the Special Marriage Act.”
The Indian Judiciary has led the way to remove the taboo and make live-in arrangements more and more socially acceptable by delivering unprecedented judgments, the lawyer points out. “All other laws such as the Indian Penal Code and other Acts are applicable when it comes to sexual and domestic violence, mental torture, wrongful confinement, or even abandonment after cohabiting together for a long duration with a promise or hope of marriage. The aspect of consent is equally recognised and a partner in a live-in relationship must not be construed to have been given blanket consent for sexual activity or otherwise,” says Satya Muley.
Live-in relationships: Legal or illegal in India?
Dr Mritunjay Singh, Assistant Professor of Law at Himachal Pradesh National Law University, Shimla, explains that a live-in relationship may be understood as an arrangement to cohabit together coupled with an emotional and sexual relationship. “Cohabitation was considered a taboo in colonial India unless there is a relationship of marriage between the parties. Indian legal system has recognised marriage as a legal institution, which binds the parties to the marriage in a relationship of rights and obligations. Over the years, the Supreme Court of India has become more liberal and has allowed cohabitation under live-in relationships as a facet of the ‘Right to Live’ under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. Thus live-in relationship has been accepted as legitimate relationship in India, where parties to the relationship are entitled and bound under rights and obligations. Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 guarantees economic rights for a female live-in partner,” says Singh.
He adds that the “National Commission for Women recommended to the Ministry to include women in live-in relationships under the definition of “wife” in Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973. Malimath Committee also recommended amending the definition of wife under the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 so as to include live-in relationship within the purview of Section 125 for the entitlement of maintenance.”
‘Children born out of wedlock are NOT illegitimate as per Indian law’
“The Supreme Court of India has decided that children born out of a live-in relationship cannot be declared illegitimate and can claim the self-acquired property of their parents. However, such children will not be entitled to claim the ancestral property of their parents,” says Dr Mritunjay Singh.
Live-in relationships: Age of consent and rules for Visa
Satya Muley says that it is significant to note that recently in 2021, the Judiciary has clarified that the age of 18 years, that is the age of majority shall allow both partners to decide and live together as per their choice, and the threshold of 21 years of age for a male to be able to get married does not come in as a hurdle in live-in relationships.” The Supreme Court in 2015 also laid down that live-in relationships be recognised at par with marriages for the purpose of international visa formalities, stating that live-in relationships are now a reality of life, adds Muley.
‘Don’t fear social stigma, a victim of a broken live-in relationship should seek legal help’
Satya Muley says that a victim of a broken live-in relationship must not fear social stigma or social outcasting but must come forward to seek the protection of the law. “Suicide, violence, suffering mutely, or any other form of crime is not the answer. The rights and responsibilities of live-in partners are already fairly evolved and are in the process of attaining further clarity with every passing day. However, legislation to regulate the subject is due and will serve the cause and the purpose,” Muley admits.
