Crime & Law · India

Supreme Court extends cruelty law to live-in relationships

The Supreme Court has ruled that Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with cruelty by a husband or his relatives, will now apply to live-in relationships that are 'in the nature of marriage'. This means partners in such relationships can be prosecuted for cruelty. The court stated that cruelty does not depend on the legal status of the relationship but on its nature. This decision extends legal protection previously available only to married women to women in long-term, marriage-like live-in relationships.

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