The Kerala High Court in a memorable judgement today said that two consenting adults have the right to live together even if they are not married. The court's observation ruled that marriage is not a compulsory factor if a boy and girl choose to live together. The judgement came in the context of a case filed by the father of a 19-year-old girl, who said in his complaint that a 18-year-old boy had detained his daughter. But the boy and the girl had been insisting that they were in a relationship and had decided to live-in on their own accord.

The landmark verdict was announced by a bench comprising Justice K P  Jyothindranath and Justice V Chitambaresh. The Supreme Court had recently held that adults have the right to be in a live-in relationship, even if they have not attained the legal age for marriage provided they are adults.

The court said that the girl can continue living with the boy or marry her once she reaches the legal age to do so. It was court's observation that the girl and the boy had been living like a couple in this case without marriage. "It transpires that the girl is living with the youth out of her own volition and she being a major has a right to live whatever she wants to as is permissible or to move as per her choice. The girl has every right to live with the youth even outside her wedlock since the live-in relationship has been statutorily recognized by the Legislature itself," the court held.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 01, 2018 08:13 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).