Archive · 10 Aug 2026
Supreme Court extends Section 498A protection to live-in relationships
In India, a law called Section 498A says it is a crime for a husband or his relatives to be cruel to a woman.
The Supreme Court, India's highest court, has now said this protection also applies to women in live-in relationships that are 'in the nature of marriage'.
That means a couple who lives together like a married couple, even without a formal wedding, is covered by the law.
The court made this decision after a man said the law should not apply because he and the woman were not legally married.
The court disagreed and said it would be unfair to leave women in live-in relationships without protection.
This matters because the article says many women in India face violence from their partners.
The court also said police cannot automatically arrest someone under this law, so it is not misused.
Some people worry that new rules, like registering live-in relationships in Uttarakhand, let the government watch couples too closely.
The main idea is that laws must change as society changes.
The Supreme Court extended Section 498A (Section 84 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita) domestic cruelty protection to women in live-in relationships 'in the nature of marriage'.
The verdict upheld a Karnataka High Court order refusing to quash criminal proceedings against a man accused under Section 498A.
The accused had argued the law could not apply because there was no legally valid marriage between him and the complainant.
Nearly one in five Indian women has reported intimate partner physical and/or sexual violence, according to the Global Gender Gap Report 2024.
The court clarified that the safeguards against automatic arrest laid down in Arnesh Kumar versus State of Bihar must be strictly followed in such cases.
Cruelty by husband or relatives was the single largest category of registered crimes against women in India in 2024, according to the National Crime Records Bureau.
- Who
- The Supreme Court of India, upholding a Karnataka High Court order involving a man accused under Section 498A and a woman complainant.
- What
- Extended Section 498A domestic cruelty protection to women in live-in relationships that are 'in the nature of marriage'.
- When
- Recent decision (no specific date stated in the article).
- Where
- India; the case originated in Karnataka.
- Why
- To avoid discriminatory denial of legal protection to women in live-in relationships and to keep the law responsive to social change.
Protecting women from domestic cruelty
Concerns over misuse and surveillance
Weakening Section 498A
Protecting women from domestic cruelty
Instances of abuse of the law are nominal compared to the volume of abuse against women and should not become a pretext to weaken it; the provision remains essential protection.
Concerns over misuse and surveillance
Section 498A has not been foolproof to misapplication and there are allegations that it is weaponised to harass husbands and their families.
Registration of live-in relationships
Protecting women from domestic cruelty
Institutional registration, as in Uttarakhand's Uniform Civil Code, leaves intimate choices vulnerable to surveillance and prejudicial, violent intervention.
Concerns over misuse and surveillance
The government pursues registration of live-in relationships in the name of protectionism, and Uttarakhand's Uniform Civil Code serves as a model for other states.
- Law
- Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, now Section 84 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
- Decision
- Protection extended to women in live-in relationships 'in the nature of marriage'
- Lower court order
- Karnataka High Court order upheld by the Supreme Court
- Intimate partner violence
- Nearly 1 in 5 Indian women reported physical and/or sexual violence (Global Gender Gap Report 2024)
- Crimes against women in 2024
- Cruelty by husband or relatives was the single largest category (National Crime Records Bureau)
- Arrest safeguard
- Arnesh Kumar versus State of Bihar guidelines against automatic arrest to be strictly followed
- Related policy
- Uttarakhand's Uniform Civil Code requires institutional registration of live-in relationships