What are my rights if i was in a relationship for 7 years?

106 votes

LEGAL STATUS OF LIVE IN RELATIONSHIP

The definition of live in relationships is not clear and so is the status of the couples in a live in relationship. There is no specific law on the subject of live in relationships in India. There is no legislation to define the rights and obligations of the parties to a live in relationships, the status of children born to such couples. In the absence of any law to define the status of live in relationships, the Courts have come forward to give clarity to the concept of live in relationships.

The Courts have taken the view that where a man and a woman live together as husband and wife for a long term, the law will presume that they were legally married unless proved contrary.

The first case in which the Supreme Court of India first recognized the live in relationship as a valid marriage was that of Badri Prasad vs. Dy. Director of Consolidation, in which the Court gave legal validity to the a 50 year live in relationship of a couple.

The Allahabad High Curt again recognized the concept of live in relationship in the case of Payal Katara vs. Superintendent, Nari Niketan and others, wherein it held that live in relationship is not illegal. The Court said that a man and a woman can live together as per their wish even without getting married. It further said that it may be immoral for the society but is not illegal. Again in the case of Patel and Others., the Supreme Court has held that live in relationship between two adults without marriage cannot be construed as an offence. It further held that there is no law which postulates that live in relationships are illegal. The concept of live in relationship was again recognized in the case of Tulsa v. Durghatiya.

In the case of S. Khushboo vs. Kanniammal & Anr., the Supreme Court held that living together is a right to life. Live in relationship may be immoral in the eyes of the conservative Indian society but it is not “illegal” in the eyes of law. In this case, all the charges against Kushboo, the south Indian actress who endorsed pre- marital sex and live in relationship were dropped. The Court held that how can it be illegal if two adults live together, in their words “living together cannot be illegal.” However in one of its judgment Alok Kumar vs. State, the Delhi High Court has held that live in relation is walk in and walk out relationship and no strings are attached to it. This kind of relationship does not create any legal bond between the partners. It further held that in case of live in relationships, the partners cannot complain of infidelity or immorality. Again giving recognition to live in relationships, the SupremeCourt in the case of D. Velusamy v. D. Patchaiammal has  held that, a ‘relationship in the nature of marriage’ under the 2005 Act must also fulfill some basic criteria. Merely spending weekends together or a one night stand would not make it a ‘domestic relationship’. It also held that if a man has a ‘keep’ whom he maintains financially and uses mainly for sexual purpose and/or as a servant it would not, in our opinion, be a relationship in the nature of marriage’. The court made it clear that if the man has a live-in arrangement with a woman only for sexual reasons, neither partner can claim benefits of a legal marriage. In order to be eligible for ‘palimony’, a relationship must comply with certain conditions, the apex court said.

The following conditions were laid down by the apex Court:

1. The couple must hold themselves out to society as being akin to spouses;
2. They must be of legal age to marry; they must be otherwise qualified to enter into a legal marriage, including being unmarried;

3. They must have voluntarily cohabited for a significant period of time.

Conscious of the fact that the judgment would exclude many women in live-in relationships from the benefit of the Domestic Violence Act, 2005, the apex court said it is not for this court to legislate or amend the law.

The parliament has used the expression ‘relationship in the nature of marriage’ and not ‘live-in relationship’. The court cannot change the language of the statute.

LawRato LawRato

905 votes

LEGAL STATUS OF LIVE IN RELATIONSHIP
The definition of live in relationships is not clear and so is
the status of the couples in a live in relationship. There is no
specific law on the subject of live in relationships in India.
There is no legislation to define the rights and obligations of
the parties to a live in relationships, the status of children
born to such couples. In the absence of any law to define
the status of live in relationships, the Courts have come
forward to give clarity to the concept of live in relationships.
The Courts have taken the view that where a man and a
woman live together as husband and wife for a long term,
the law will presume that they were legally married unless
proved contrary.
The first case in which the Supreme Court of India first
recognized the live in relationship as a valid marriage was
that of Badri Prasad vs. Dy. Director of Consolidation, in
which the Court gave legal validity to the a 50 year live in
relationship of a couple.
The Allahabad High Curt again recognized the concept of
live in relationship in the case of Payal Katara vs.
Superintendent, Nari Niketan and others, wherein it held that
live in relationship is not illegal. The Court said that a man
and a woman can live together as per their wish even
without getting married. It further said that it may be
immoral for the society but is not illegal.
Again in the case of Patel and Others., the Supreme Court
has held that live in relationship between two adults without
marriage cannot be construed as an offence. It further held
that there is no law which postulates that live in
relationships are illegal. The concept of live in relationship
was again recognized in the case of Tulsa v. Durghatiya.
In the case of S. Khushboo vs. Kanniammal & Anr., the
Supreme Court held that living together is a right to life. Live
in relationship may be immoral in the eyes of the
conservative Indian society but it is not “illegal” in the eyes
of law. In this case, all the charges against Kushboo, the
south Indian actress who endorsed pre- marital sex and live
in relationship were dropped. The Court held that how can it
be illegal if two adults live together, in their words “living
together cannot be illegal.”
However in one of its judgment Alok Kumar vs. State, the
Delhi High Court has held that live in relation is walk in and
walk out relationship and no strings are attached to it. This
kind of relationship does not create any legal bond between
the partners. It further held that in case of live in
relationships, the partners cannot complain of infidelity or
immorality.
Again giving recognition to live in relationships, the Supreme
Court in the case of D. Velusamy v. D. Patchaiammal has
held that, a ‘relationship in the nature of marriage’ under the
2005 Act must also fulfill some basic criteria. Merely
spending weekends together or a one night stand would not
make it a ‘domestic relationship’. It also held that if a man
has a ‘keep’ whom he maintains financially and uses mainly
for sexual purpose and/or as a servant it would not, in our
opinion, be a relationship in the nature of marriage’.
The court made it clear that if the man has a live-in
arrangement with a woman only for sexual reasons, neither
partner can claim benefits of a legal marriage. In order to be
eligible for ‘palimony’, a relationship must comply with
certain conditions, the apex court said. The following
conditions were laid down by the apex Court:
The couple must hold themselves out to society as being
akin to spouses;
They must be of legal age to marry; they must be otherwise
qualified to enter into a legal marriage, including being
unmarried;
They must have voluntarily cohabited for a significant
period of time.
Conscious of the fact that the judgment would exclude many
women in live-in relationships from the benefit of the
Domestic Violence Act, 2005, the apex court said it is not
for this court to legislate or amend the law. The parliament
has used the expression ‘relationship in the nature of
marriage’ and not ‘live-in relationship’. The court cannot
change the language of the statute.

Advocate Rajneesh Kumar LawRato

661 votes

If you wish to initiate legal action then you will have to involve your family, this is the done thing.
Second, you were involved with him for 7 yrs, so I'm assuming that you had sexual relations with him, if yes, then you can prosecute him for rape, because sexual relationship on the false promise of marriage is rape.

Advocate Imran Ibrahim LawRato