STATUS AND IMPLICATIONS OF INHERITANCE RIGHTS FOR LIVE-IN RELATIONSHIPS AND THEIR CHILDREN IN INDIA

Abstract Live-In Relationships: an idea which has long been tabooed and stigmatized in Indian society is not a novel western concept. Even it were practically unheard of a few decades ago, it most certainly is not in today’s society. But what would be the legal ramifications for the parties who do enter in such relations. Indian law has always been very ambiguous in this regard. While much has been talked about maintenance rights of such partners, very little light has been shed on their and their children’s maintenance rights. Are the words ‘kept, ‘concubine’ really the correct nomenclature as they strip a woman of her dignity. Why is that there still has been no proper legal recognition accorded to such couples and what have the courts over the years opined about them? This paper seeks to answer all this and a proposed alternative to the current scenario.