Supreme Court dismisses ‘hare-brained’ PIL seeking registration of live-in relationships by government

The petition cited the recent tragic murder of Shraddha Walker to buttress the need for framing of rules and guidelines for the registration of such relationships.

—

THE Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking mandatory registration of every live-in relationship with the Union government, warning the petitioner of imposing costs for such a petition.

A three-judge bench comprising the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dr. D.Y. Chandrachud and Justices P.S. Narasimha and J.B. Pardiwala heard the PIL.

The bench wondered what the Union government has to do with the registration of live-in relationships. When the petitioner said it was for social security purposes, an irked CJI said, "For such hare-brained PILs, we must start imposing costs".

In her petition, petitioner Mamta Rani argued that the registration of a live-in relationship would lead to accurate information being available to both the live-in partners about each other and also to the government about each of them regarding their marital status, criminal history, and other relevant details.

The petition also referred to the recent killing of Shraddha Walkar, allegedly by her live-in partner Aaftab Amin Poonawala. The petition cited this incidence to buttress the need for framing of rules and guidelines for the registration of such relationships.