No Offence to Live-in: SC
Bringing cheer to proponents of pre-marital sex and live-in relationships, the Supreme Court on Tuesday observed that the living together of a man and woman without marriage could not be construed as an offence, said reports.
“When two adult people want to live together what is the offence. Does it amount to an offence? Living together is not an offence. It cannot be an offence,” observed a three judge bench comprising Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan, Deepak Verma and BS Chauhan.
The apex court said there was no law prohibiting live-in relationships or pre-marital sex.
The apex court made the observation while reserving its judgment on a special leave petition filed by noted south Indian actress Khusboo, seeking the quashing of 22 criminal cases filed against her after she allegedly endorsed pre-maritial sex in interviews to various magazines some five years ago.
During the proceedings, the judges repeatedly stressed that perceived immoral activities cannot be branded as offence and said the views expressed by Khushboo were personal.
Khusboo had approached the apex court after the Madras High Court in 2008 dismissed her plea for quashing the criminal cases filed against her throughout Tamil Nadu.
Based on Media Reports
