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Never mind how India and the Indians see live-in relationships as, the Supreme Court of the land surely deems it as no offense.

In a landmark judgment doled out yesterday, the Supreme Court, citing live-in relationships as 'neither crime nor sin', has urged the Parliament to introduce laws to protect the rights of women partners as well as children born-out of such relationships.

"Live-in or marriage like relationship is neither a crime nor a sin though socially unacceptable in this country. The decision to marry or not to marry or to have a heterosexual relationship is intensely personal, various countries have started recognizing such relationship.", a bench headed by Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan said.

The ruling came yesterday while adjudicating on a dispute between a live-in couple where the woman partner had sought maintenance from the man she was living with, after the relationship concluded.

"Unfortunately, there is no express statutory provision to regulate live-in relationships upon termination as these relationships are not in the nature of marriage and not recognized in law," the bench said.

"Parliament has to ponder over these issues, bring in proper legislation or make a proper amendment of the Act, so that women and the children, born out of such kinds of relationships be protected, though those types of relationship might not be a relationship in the nature of a marriage," the court said.

The Supreme Court of Indian insisted that a proper law is warranted as at the end of a relationship, it is 'the woman who invariably suffers because of the breakdown of such relationships'.

"We cannot, however, lose sight of the fact that inequities do exist in such relationships and on breaking down such relationship, the woman invariably is the sufferer," SC said, noting that live-in relationships, unlike many other countries, is still not socially acceptable in India.

AW: Suchorita Dutta Choudhury