Legal Lines: Allahabad High Court Deliberates Muslims’ Right to Live-in Relationships within Customary Law

The Allahabad High Court recently ruled that under Islamic law, individuals cannot claim the right to live-in relationships, especially if they already have a spouse. Justices Attau Rahman Masoodi and Ajai Kumar Srivastava stated that both statutory and personal laws regulate marital conduct, thus giving equal weight to customs. They emphasized that customs hold legal validity under the Constitution, making them enforceable when relevant.

Here is all you need to know about the case:

1. The Allahabad High Court clarified that constitutional protection under Article 21 doesn’t unconditionally support live-in relationships, especially if customs oppose them.

2. The Court stated that individuals following Islam can’t claim rights to live-in relationships if already married, during a hearing on a kidnapping case involving a Hindu-Muslim couple.

3. Despite the couple’s plea for liberty protection, the Court found the Muslim man was married with a daughter, and his wife had no objections to his live-in arrangement due to her ailments.

4. In the latest petition, the man had issued triple talaq to his wife.

5. On April 29, the Court instructed the Police to bring the man’s wife to court and requested both him and his live-in partner to attend.

6. The Court discovered that the man’s wife was residing in Mumbai, not Uttar Pradesh as claimed.

7. While the petition sought validation of the live-in relationship, the Court noted the woman’s existing marriage and religious beliefs that prohibit such arrangements.

8. The Court stressed the need to balance constitutional and social morality regarding marriage, firmly rejecting the continuation of the live-in relationship and instructing the police to accompany the man’s partner to her parents’ home.

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