Protecting The Rights Of Women In Live-In Relationships: Uttarakhand High Court

Pragya Pathak

Author

Updated: 16-04-2025 at 12:48 PM

India is known for its culture and traditions but sometimes those same cultural values and traditions hinder people’s growth and disregard their personal choices. With time, the relationships people share have gone through changes as well such as the uprising situations of live-in couples.

Couples who are in live-in relationships face a lot of backlash in India because it’s not conventional. Till now, there was no legal framework for such relationships because of this women faced a lot of issues concerning their safety.

However, this is changing with the state of Uttarakhand. The state govt of Uttarakhand implemented the Uttarakhand Civil Code (UCC) which comprises various personal laws including provisions for the mandated registration of couples in live-in relationships by applying for a Religious Certificate.

But some people didn’t agree with it. Recently, the Uttarakhand High Court held a ruling on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) wherein the mandated registration was challenged by two petitioners.

Read the news article to learn more about the mandated registration, the petitioner’s appeal against it, and the why behind their appeal.

Mandated Registration Of Live-In Couples

Many couples are now choosing live-in relationships and it is becoming a quite common option. The state of Uttarakhand is one of the first states of India to provide legal recognition to couples in live-in relationships.

The state implemented the Uttarakhand Civil Code (UCC) which carries provisions regarding couples in live-in relationships as well. It was mandated by the state govt that live-in couples who fall in the ‘prohibited category’ as per Schedule 1 of the act are required to apply for a certificate called the Religious Certificate which would help them in smooth registrations. The registration is to be done within 30 days of cohabitation. Schedule 1 of the act consists of around 37 prohibited relationships for both, males and females between blood relations or extended family members.

Challenging The Rule

The Uttarakhand High Court under the bench of Justices Manoj Kumar Tiwari and Ashish Naithani came across two petitions that challenged the Uniform Civil Code and requested the removal of mandated registration of couples in live-in relationships.

Appeal Of Petitioners

The petitioners represented by Advocate Vrinda Grover argued that the existing rules in the Uniform Civil Code don’t consider people’s choices and wishes and are nothing but an invasion of privacy.

Advocate Grover also highlighted the fact that due to rigid and no rules and regulations for live-in couples, women in such relationships are extremely vulnerable to harassment and violence.

This was contested by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta who represented the state. The Solicitor General stated that the laws under criticism were created extremely carefully and were enacted following extensive public consultations and feedback. He highlighted that the act is nowhere near an invasion of people’s privacy but only near the protection of women as they are highly vulnerable to risk in such relationships.

Conclusion

The state of Uttarakhand created special provisions such as mandated registration of couples in live-in relationships in UCC. However, some people do not agree with it and hence petitioned for its removal. The court’s decision is yet to come as it is an ongoing hearing. But no matter the decision, it is great to see how India is changing and adapting to the changing needs of the people.

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