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1. The present petition has been filed under Articles 226/227 of

the Constitution of India for issuance of direction to respondent No.2 to

protect life and liberty of the petitioners at the hands of private

respondents as they are in a ‘live-in’ against the wishes of their family

members.

2. Learned counsel for the petitioners refers to the averments

made in the petition, to state that both the petitioners are major and the

date of birth of petitioner No.1 and No.2 are 11.07.1987 and 01.01.1995,

respectively. The copies of their Aadhar cards are appended as Annexures

P-1 and P-2, respectively. The petitioners are stated to be in a 'live-in

relationship', on account of which family members of petitioner No.1 are

giving threats to them.

3. Notice of motion.

PARVEEN KUMAR

2025.12.23 17:21

I attest to the accuracy and

integrity of this

order/judgment.

CRWP-13921-2025 -2-

4. At the asking of the Court, Ms. Gagandeep Kaur, DAG,

Punjab, accepts notice on behalf of respondent Nos.1 to 3 and has no

objection in deciding the representation filed on behalf of the petitioners.

5. The issue as to whether marriage is a must for providing

protection to a couple in a 'live-in relationship', keeping in view the

fundamental rights ensured under Article 21 of the Constitution of India,

has been considered by the different Benches of this Court in CRWP-

4521-2021 titled as Pardeep Singh and another vs. State of Haryana

and others decided on 18.05.2021; CRWP-8081-2021 titled as Goutam

Kumar and another vs. State of Punjab and others decided on

26.08.2021 and also by the Division Bench in LPA 769-2021 titled as

Ishrat Bano and another vs. State of Punjab and others decided on

03.09.2021 and in LPA 1678-2014 titled as Rajwinder Kaur and

another vs. State of Punjab and others decided on 09.10.2014.

6. This Court in Pardeep Singh's case(supra) while granting

protection to the petitioners therein, where they were residing in a live-in

relationship, had held as under:

“The Constitution of India is the Supreme Law of the

land. Right to life and liberty is enshrined therein and

is treated as a basic feature. The said right includes the

right of an individual to full development of his/her

potential in accordance with his/her choice and wish

and for such purpose, he/she is entitled to choose a

partner of his/her choice. The individual also has the

right to formalize the relationship with the partner

through marriage or to adopt the non-formal approach

of a live-in relationship. The concept of live-in-

relationships has crept into our society from western

nations and initially, found acceptance in the

metropolitan cities, probably because, individuals felt

that formalization of a relationship through marriage

was not necessary for complete fulfillment. Education

played a great role in development of this concept.

PARVEEN KUMAR

2025.12.23 17:21

I attest to the accuracy and

integrity of this

order/judgment.

CRWP-13921-2025 -3-

Slowly, the concept has percolated into small towns

and villages also as is evident from this petition. This

shows that social acceptance for live-in-relationships

is on the increase. In law, such a relationship is not

prohibited nor does it amount to commission of any

offence and thus, in my considered view such persons

are entitled to equal protection of laws as any other

citizen of the country. The law postulates that the life

and liberty of every individual is precious and must be

protected irrespective of individual views.

Let us examine the issue from another view-point. The

Constitutional Courts grant protection to couples, who

have married against the wishes of their respective

parents. They seek protection of life and liberty from

their parents and family members, who disapprove of

the alliance. An identical situation exits where the

couple has entered into a live-in-relationship. The only

difference is that the relationship is not universally

accepted. Would that make any difference? In my

considered opinion, it would not. The couple fears for

their safety from relatives