• 'Hare-brained idea': SC rejects plea for registration of live-in relationships with Centre

    National
    'Hare-brained idea': SC rejects plea for registration of live-in relationships with Centre

    The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a PIL seeking the framing of norms for the registration of every live-in relationship with the Center and termed it...


    Digital Desk: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a PIL seeking the framing of norms for the registration of every live-in relationship with the Center and termed it a "hare-brained" idea. A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud asked the petitioner's counsel, lawyer Mamta Rani if she wanted to foster the security of these people or prevent them from entering into live-in relationships. The counsel replied that the petitioner wanted the relationship to be registered in order to improve their social security.


    "What does the Centre has to do with the registration of live-in relationships? What kind of hare-brained idea is this? It is high time this court start imposing costs on petitioners who file these kinds of PILs. Dismissed," the bench also comprising Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala said.


    The PIL was filed by Rani seeking direction to the Centre to establish rules for the registration of live-in relationships, citing a rise in crimes such as rape and murder allegedly done by live-in partners. The petition, which referred to the recent murder of Shraddha Walkar reportedly by her live-in partner Aaftab Amin Poonawala, also requested the establishment of rules and guidelines for the registration of such relationships.


    According to the PIL, registering live-in relationships would result in accurate information being accessible to both live-in partners and the government about each of them regarding their marital status, criminal background, and other relevant details.


    Besides a rise in crimes like rape and murder, the plea said there has been a "huge rise in false rape cases filed by women wherein they claim to be living in live-in relationships with the accused, and it is always difficult for the courts to find out from evidence whether the fact of living in live-in relationships is proved by the backing of evidence".