The Delhi High Court has ruled that consenting adults in a live-in relationship have the fundamental right to live together without interference from their families or others. Justice Saurabh Banerjee, while hearing a petition filed by a couple seeking protection from threats allegedly issued by the woman’s family, observed that their decision to live together was a matter of personal choice protected under the Constitution. The court granted police protection to the couple, emphasizing that parents, relatives, or friends cannot threaten or interfere with the liberty of adults who have voluntarily chosen to reside together.

In its order dated August 13, the High Court stated that although the couple was not legally married, their live-in relationship was “akin to marriage” in the context of the legal protections available to consenting adults. The court noted that marriages are recognized irrespective of caste, religion, creed, or faith, and that denying adults the freedom to choose their life partners based on societal prejudices amounts to a violation of their constitutional rights and individual identity. The petitioners, both in their thirties, informed the court that they had been living together for some time and intended to marry in the future.

The court also referred to previous Supreme Court judgments affirming that adults have the unrestricted right to live together even without a formal marriage. It highlighted that such relationships have legal recognition under laws including the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. According to the petition, the woman’s father and brother had allegedly threatened the couple with violence, and despite approaching the local police, no effective action had been taken. The High Court’s order reinforces the legal principle that the personal liberty and safety of consenting adults must be protected irrespective of social or familial opposition.