‘Relations in the Nature of Marriage and Legal Wedlock’- A Study
Volume-1, Issue-1, 2018
This paper mainly focuses on the ‘relations in the nature of marriage’ and legal wedlock. Firstly, it deals with the concepts and status of Legal Wedlock in India. Legal wedlock is valid, only if the marriage takes place with the fulfilment of certain conditions, which varies in each religion. The paper will focus on such conditions and determine how a marriage is determined to be valid. Further, the paper deals with the concept of ‘relations in the nature of marriage’. Relations in the nature of marriage consists three broad categories of relationships, out of which live-in-relationships are more prominent in the present scenario. Live-in-relationship is an arrangement in which un-married couples live together in a longterm relationship that resembles that of a marriage. The paper explains about the emergence and status of live-in-relationships in the Indian society. The majority of the legislations governing personal laws in India do not recognize live-in-relationships. This paper would further analyse the Indian judiciary’s stand on the status and rights of live-in-relationship and the partners in it. Status of live-in-relationship in other countries is also discussed. Finally, an analysis is made on relations in the ‘nature of marriage’ and ‘legal wedlock’.