Are live-in relationships legal in India?

No. No law in India makes it an offence for two unmarried adults to live together. In Indra Sarma v V.K.V. Sarma, decided on 26 November 2013, the Supreme Court opened its judgment by saying a live-in or marriage-like relationship is “neither a crime nor a sin”, though it noted that many people still find it socially unacceptable.

Landlords, families or housing societies may object, but those are social pressures, not legal bars. Couples who face threats for living together can ask the police and the courts for protection.

The main protection comes from the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, which covers a “relationship in the nature of marriage”. In D. Velusamy v D. Patchaiammal (2010), the Supreme Court said such a relationship must meet four conditions:

Then the relationship usually doesn't qualify. In Indra Sarma, a woman who had lived for years with a man she knew was married lost her claim under the Domestic Violence Act, because the court found the relationship wasn't in the nature of marriage. The court listed factors to weigh, including how long the couple lived together, whether they shared a household and finances, whether they had children and how they presented themselves, and said these were illustrative, not a fixed checklist.

Courts have generally protected them. In Tulsa v Durghatiya (2008), the Supreme Court held that a child born to parents who had lived together for a long time as husband and wife would not be treated as illegitimate, and that such a child has rights to the parents' property. Later rulings have said the same, with limits on ancestral property.

In Uttarakhand, yes. Its Uniform Civil Code, passed in February 2024 with rules in force since 27 January 2025, requires live-in couples to register when the relationship begins and when it ends. Only unmarried adult couples made up of a man and a woman can register. A couple who don't register within a month can face up to three months in jail, a fine of up to ₹10,000, or both; giving false information raises the fine to ₹25,000. Children of these relationships are treated as legitimate, and a woman deserted by her partner can claim maintenance.

Critics argue that compulsory registration intrudes on the right to privacy recognised by the Supreme Court in Puttaswamy (2017). Uttarakhand was the first state with such a rule; check your own state's current position. For how marriage and divorce law works, see divorce and talaq in India.