The Allahabad High Court’s Lucknow bench has ruled that married Muslim individuals cannot claim rights to a live-in relationship as “Islamic tenets do not permit” such a relationship while the spouse is still alive. The court said the position, however, might differ if the “two people were unmarried and the parties being majors chose to lead their lives in a way of their own.”
On Wednesday, a two-judge bench of Justices AR Masoodi and AK Srivastava was hearing a writ petition by a couple — Sneha Devi and Mohd Shadab Khan, who sought protection from police after the woman’s family filed a complaint that she had been kidnapped by Khan, PTI news agency reported.
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The couple also sought protection under Article 21 (protection of life and personal liberty), saying as adults, they were free to reside together in a live-in relationship as per norms laid down by the Supreme Court.
However, the bench upon inquiry learned that Khan had been married since 2020 and also shared a baby with his wife.
“Islamic tenets do not allow live-in relationships during an existing marriage. The position may be different if the two people are unmarried and the parties being majors chose to lead their lives in a way of their own,” the court said.
It also declined to pass an order on the issue of protection of life and liberty.
“The constitutional morality may come to the rescue of such a couple and the social morality settled through the customs and usages over ages may give way to constitutional morality and protection under Article 21 of the Constitution of India may step in to protect the cause. The case before us is, however, different,” it said.
“The constitutional protection under Article 21 of the Constitution of India would not lend un-channeled support to such a right, because the usages and customs prohibit such a relationship between two individuals of different faiths.”
(Inputs by PTI)
Published By:
Karishma Saurabh Kalita
Published On:
May 9, 2024
