 "Allahabad High Court, HC, high court, Allahabad")
While granting bail to a man accused of raping his live-in partner, the Allahabad High Court on Tuesday said that the "brutish concept" of changing partners every season cannot be considered a hallmark of a "stable and healthy" society.
"Live-in relationship shall only be considered as normal after the institution of marriage becomes obsolete in this country, like in many of the so-called developed countries where it has become a big problem for them to protect the institution of marriage," Justice Siddharth was quoted as saying by LiveLaw.
The judge further said that "infidelity" in marriages, as well as live-in-relationships, are now being considered signs of a progressive society. "The youth gets attracted to such philosophy being advanced, unaware of the long-term consequences," he added.
The accused man in the case before the Allahabad High Court was arrested on April 18 for allegedly going back on his promise to marry his 19-year-old live-in partner. The man had refused to marry the woman after she got pregnant. Following this, the woman filed a complaint of rape on the false pretext of marriage.
On Tuesday, the judge said it was yet another case in which after "enjoying the live-in relationship", the couple parted ways.
He said that the woman, after leaving the man, filed the complaint to be able to "come within the ambit of the socially accepted norms and relationship of marriage".
"From social ostracisation to indecent public comments become part of her post-live-in relationship ordeal," Justice Siddharth said, adding that he has seen similar cases in which women file such cases to convert the relationship into marriage and receive "social sanction".
The judge also blamed movies and television shows for contributing to the "systematic design" that seeks to demolish the institution of marriage in the country.
The court held that people who do not have a good relationship with their family cannot contribute to the country's progress.
The judge also said that moving from one relationship to another does not lead to a fulfilling existence and children born from such relationships face a lot of problems.
"When their parents separated, they became a burden on society. They fall into the wrong company, and a national loss of good citizens occurs. In the case of a female child born out of a live-in relationship, there are other ill effects which are too obvious to be elaborated on. Courts came across such cases daily," he said.
