JEMTEC SCHOOL OF LAW

Survey Report

At
DELHI UNIVERSITY
(Faculty of Law)
Submitted By

: Rahul Chopra

B.A LLB IIND YEAR

Enrollment No: 31025503814
Submitted To : Mrs. Rumi Ahmed

INTRODUCTION
The expression live-in-relationship in its ordinary sense to mean that two people living together
without intending to establish any kind of permanent relationship between them. This kind of
relationship has emerged primarily out of convenience. Partners in such kind of relationship
initially lack the commitment with each other. The main element that works in such relationship
is compatibility between such partners. Due to modernization and city culture, we are observing
this kind relationship in few parts of Indian society. Different kind of persons may be involved in
such relations. Unmarried man and unmarried woman or married man and unmarried woman or
unmarried man and married woman or persons of same sex may live together.

The Concept of Live-In-Relationship

Live- in-relationships are not new for western countries. Some tried to define live-in-relationship
by observing that it is an arrangement of living under which the couples who are unmarried live
together to conduct a long-going relationship similarly as in marriage. The main idea, according
to some, of cohabiting or conducting a live-in-relationship is that the interested couple wanted to
test their compatibility for each other before going for some commitment. Live-in-relationship is
a de facto union in which couple shares common bed-room without solemnizing marriage. It is
non-marital relationship prevailing in West with the different name like, common law marriages,
informal marriages or marriage by habit, deemed marriages etc. It is a form of interpersonal
status which is legally recognized in some jurisdictions as a marriage even though no legally
recognized marriage ceremony is performed or civil marriage contract is entered into or the
marriage registered in a civil registry.
Some bold couples believe that going for a wedding is just a waste of money, because they think
their love doesnt need any paper certification or social drama. According to Osho, in their true
nature of all human beings are polygamy, marriage makes them monogamy which is against its
nature. So thats the reason after marriage too people keep relation outside wedlock. We can infer
from analyzing the relationships that it is evident that live-in couples are still largely from

professions like entertainment, advertising, modeling and media. According to Samindara

Sawant, clinical psychologist, Disha Counselling Clinic, Mumbai has found that the trend of
live-in-relationships has not really caught on in India, especially in the middle and upper middle
classes, where marriage is still very much the norm. Live-in-relationships are practiced mostly in
the metropolitan cities. Such practice is still a social taboo in a major part of our country which is
constituted by villages and towns. According to a view the live-in-relationships are earlier in
existence in the form of maitraya karars which has been practiced in some parts of Gujarat.
There is a gradual transition from the sacrament of arranged marriages to love marriages and
ultimately to live-in relationships, due to many reasons like lack of tolerance and commitment.

METHODOLOGY
A field of applied statistics, survey methodology studies the sampling of individual units from
a population and the associated survey data collection techniques, such as questionnaire
construction and methods for improving the number and accuracy of responses to surveys.
Statistical surveys are undertaken with a view towards making statistical inferences about the
population being studied, and this depends strongly on the survey questions used.
Polls about public opinion, public health surveys, market research surveys, government surveys
and censuses are all examples of quantitative research that use contemporary survey
methodology to answer questions about a population. Although censuses do not include a
"sample", they do include other aspects of survey methodology, like questionnaires,
interviewers, and non response follow-up techniques. Surveys provide important information for
all kinds of public information and research fields, e.g., marketing research, psychology, health
professionals and sociology.

TYPES OF SURVEY METHODS

There are various types of surveys you can choose from. Basically, the types of surveys are
broadly categorized into two: according to instrumentation and according to the span of time
involved. The types of surveys according to instrumentation include the questionnaire and the
interview. On the other hand, the types of surveys according to the span of time used to conduct

the survey are comprised of cross-sectional surveys and longitudinal surveys.

According to Instrumentation
In survey research, the instruments that are utilized can be either a questionnaire or
an interview (either structured or unstructured).
1. Questionnaires
Typically, a questionnaire is a paper-and-pencil instrument that is administered to the
respondents. The usual questions found in questionnaires are closed-ended questions, which are
followed by response options. However, there are questionnaires that ask open-ended questions
to explore the answers of the respondents.
Questionnaires have been developed over the years. Today, questionnaires are utilized in
various survey methods, according to how they are given. These methods include the selfadministered, the group-administered, and the household drop-off. Among the three, the selfadministered survey method is often used by researchers nowadays. The self-administered
questionnaires are widely known as the mail survey method. However, since the response rates
related to mail surveys had gone low, questionnaires are now commonly administered online, as
in the form of web surveys.

Advantages: Ideal for asking closed-ended questions; effective for market or consumer
research

Disadvantages: Limit the researchers understanding of the respondents answers;

requires budget for reproduction of survey questionnaires.

2. Interviews
Between the two broad types of surveys, interviews are more personal and probing.
Questionnaires do not provide the freedom to ask follow-up questions to explore the answers of
the respondents, but interviews do.

An interview includes two persons - the researcher as the interviewer, and therespondent as the
interviewee. There are several survey methods that utilize interviews. These are the personal or
face-to-face interview, the phone interview, and more recently, the online interview.

Advantages: Follow-up questions can be asked; provide better understanding of the

answers of the respondents

Disadvantages: Time-consuming; many target respondents have no public-listed phone

numbers or no telephones at all

According to the Span of Time Involved

The span of time needed to complete the survey brings us to the two different types of surveys:
cross-sectional and longitudinal.
1. Cross-Sectional Surveys
Collecting information from the respondents at a single period in time uses the cross-sectional
type of survey. Cross-sectional surveys usually utilize questionnaires to ask about a particular
topic at one point in time. For instance, a researcher conducted a cross-sectional survey asking
teenagers views on cigarette smoking as of May 2010. Sometimes, cross-sectional surveys are
used to identify the relationship between two variables, as in a comparative study. An example
of this is administering a cross-sectional survey about the relationship of peer pressure and
cigarette smoking among teenagers as of May 2010.
2. Longitudinal Surveys
When the researcher attempts to gather information over a period of time or from one point in
time up to another, he is doing a longitudinal survey. The aim of longitudinal surveys is to
collect data and examine the changes in the data gathered. Longitudinal surveys are used
in cohort studies, panel studies and trend studies.

CONCLUSION
Live-in relationships in India have still not received the consent of the majority of people. They
are still considered a taboo to the Indian society. The majority of the people consider it as an
immoral and an improper relationship. At present there is no specific legislation that deals with
concept of live in relationship and the rights of the parties and the children of the live in
partners. It was a very unambiguous concept until the Supreme Court of India took the initiative
and declared that live in relationship though considered immoral but it is not illegal.
Through its various decisions the judiciary has tried to accord legality to the concept and protect
the rights of the parties and the children of live in couples. But at present there is a need to
formulate a law that would clarify the concept. There should be clear provisions with regard to
the time span required to give status to the relationship, registration and rights of parties and
children born out of it. The utmost need of the hour is to secure the future of the children born to
live in couples. The steps taken by the judiciary are indeed welcoming and pragmatic in
approach. Though the live in relations provide the individuals individual freedom but due to the
insecurity it carries it with, there needs to be a law to curtail its disadvantages.