Ravikant Deshmukh Ballb 2nd year

Love sex and LAW

Love is a gift; sex an individual necessity and when things dont work out after all this and relationships end, it is the time for the Law to come in for the benefit of a third individual who steps into this cruel world due to the lust of two reckless people! Yes! I am talking about the new fad (most of us which we see in the green benches of Nescafe) that is Live-in relationships when people enjoy to their maximum satisfaction with adequate demand & supply but without an equilibrium point. In simple, relationships are just an attitude of you scratch my back, I scratch your back & both of us satiated while it lasts! But lets leave it to the puppy-love couples for these are their personal matters, but hey, we are the lawyers and the hard decision of legitimacy of the new born child rests on our conscience and the laws governing humans, but not their desires! So the million-dollar question we have to ask ourselves is What happens to the rights of the child and the woman who had conceived him after all the Love-Sex & Dokha? This ruthless topic had embarked upon a never-ending debate as to whether there should be a law made by the Government or should this topic be left to the couples; as on 15th December, 2008 in the question hour, Mr. H. R. Bhardwaj, Honble Union Law Minister of India, while responding to the question related to Live-in-relationships, said that if Live-in- relationships are acceptable by the society, then the government can make laws on this subject. Laws are framed keeping in view the ever-changing societal trends. It is hypothetical to question whether we are contemplating a law to govern Live-in relationships or their rights. Though this trend of Livein relationships is only catching up fast, if a law is enacted, it will only be misused! So instead of focusing on Live-in relationship, we should focus on the rights of the women & the newborn children. Even though the court has shown willingness in recognizing their rights, the rights of women in such relationships are also not very certain and laws like Protection of Women from Domestic

Ravikant Deshmukh Ballb 2nd year

Love sex and LAW

Violence Act, 2005 recognizes the rights of women in such relationship. Nonetheless, various other laws such as the law of marriage, succession etc. needs to be reviewed to give full protection to women in Live-in relationships. As far as the right of child born under such a relationship is concerned, under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 such a child will be deemed legal, even though there is no such law apart from the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 that endorses the presumption of legality of the child born out of a Live-in relationship & if none of them are ready to accept the child, then the court may appoint a guardian for that child. There have been a number of cases such as the S.P.S Balasubramanyam Vs Suruthaya and the Andali Padayachi and Ors. AIR 1992 SC 756, the Supreme Court held that if man and woman are 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 Live as husband and wife and the children born to them will not be illegitimate. The most relevant case relating to the above-mentioned situations was given by the bench comprising of Justices Markandey Katju and T S Thakur(VELUSAMY Vs D PATCHAIAMMAL Judgment date: October 21, 2010) for the rights of the women & certain points have been laid which clearly state how we can recognize which relationship is legal & which is not. Thus, at the end, it is not always possible that we get what we want. Legalizing Live-in relationships would mean that a totally new set of laws be framed for governing the relationships including protection in case of desertion, cheating in such relationships, maintenance, inheritance etc. Litigations would drastically increase in such a case. Moreover, the psychological impact on children born out of this relationship would be terrible leading to mental trauma and criminal tendencies. All this would give rise to an insecure society. Now the onus lies upon us to weigh the pros and cons; draw a line between our lustful desires and reality and accordingly decide whats best for ourselves and for the child we bring into this cruel world!

Ravikant Deshmukh Ballb 2nd year

Love sex and LAW