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Pre-Marital Sex Equals Marriage: Madras High Court
Pre-marital sex has been a practice that has been widely frowned upon in India. However, the Madras High Court added a strange twist to the notion of pre-marital sex in a judgment stating that it in the eyes of the law, if a 21-year-old bachelor engages and an unmarried 18-year-old agree to “indulge in sexual gratification”, they will be considered a husband and wife legally.
While this news seems shocking, it has been widely misread. Justice C.S. Karnan’s decision in actuality protects the women’s rights even if she chooses to engage in a civil union with her partner without having to marry him and as a mark of progress that has been widely misunderstood and sparked controversy in the twitter world.
Justice C.S. Karnan was ruling the case of Aysha, who had filed an appeal seeking alimony from her partner, Ozir Hassan with whom she had lived with and had two daughters with him before he deserted her family in 1999. In Karnan’s eyes, this ruling was passed as a modification of the 2006 Coimbatore Family Court decision, which had ordered the man to pay Rs 500 for the monthly maintenance of the couple’s two children and Rs 1000 for the litigation expenses but the court had not legally recognized the couple’s marriage. The woman had then appealed to the high court arguing that she was legally married to the man and had two children in wedlock.
Although Hassan had claimed that Aysha was not his wife because it was not registered or recorded in the Nikha book as per customs, however, the court rejected it saying that there was far more evidence pointing out to the fact that the couple were married in the eyes of the law because he had legally agreed to sign the consent letter for his wife’s caesarean operation during the birth of their daughter. Her live birth report, ration card, as well as birth certificate showed that he was the head of the household. The doctor too had submitted that Aysha could go through the family planning surgery and treated the couple as spouses.
The court said that the mangalsutra (a necklace the newlywed bride wears to signify her marriage), exchange of garlands and rings, and registration of marriages were all religious formalities to satisfy the expectations of the society, but if the couple could produce proof their sexual relationship through documentation. They will be considered married in any governmental records.
As reported in 'The Hindu', a daily english newspaper in India, Justice C.S. Karnan’s forward thinking showed when he said, “It is not disputed that the petitioner has been a spinster before she gave birth and that the respondent was a bachelor before developing sexual relationship with the petitioner. Both of them led their marital life under the same shelter and begot two children. Therefore, the petitioner’s rank has been elevated, as the `wife’ of the respondent and likewise, the respondent’s rank has been elevated as the `husband’ of the petitioner. Therefore, the children born to them are legitimate children and the petitioner is the legitimate wife of the respondent.”
The court also said that if a couple decides to separate after having a sexual relationship due to irreconcilable differences, the ‘husband’ will still not be able to marry without the consent of divorce from his ‘wife’.
Ever since the 2012 Delhi Rape Case, India has been viewed as unsafe place for women but this ruling shows that there are positive developments that are taking place, which recognize the safety of women in India.
Let us about your opinion. What do you think should happen? Write to us on our twitter handle @ANOKHI_Media and like our Facebook page Anokhi Media to know more.
Source: The Hindu and India Times
Image Source:Danish Siddiqui/Reuters
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