Declare live-in relationship or face up to 6 months jail: Uttarakhand Civil Code

mangaloretoday.com

New Delhi, Feb 06, 2024: Individuals, who are in, or planning to enter into live-in relationships, should register themselves under the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in Uttarakhand, once it comes into law. Those who fail to adhere to the rules will face a jail term of up to six months and a fine of Rs 25,000 or both.

 

Parental consent is required for individuals below the age of 21 and should submit a statement to the Registrar stating whether they are residents of Uttarakhand or not.

Other rules under Uttarakhand UCC:

According to the proposed UCC in Uttarakhand, if individuals stay in a live-in relationship for more than a month without submitting a statement, they could be punished and sent to jail for up to three months or fined Rs 10,000 or both.

If live-in partners withhold information or give a false statement in their undertaking, they will face imprisonment for up to three months and a fine not exceeding Rs 25,000 or both, the proposed UCC states.

The statements of live-in partners will be forwarded to the officer in charge of a local police station. The police station will be informed by the authorities if the details provided in the statement turn out to be incorrect.

As per the Uttarakhand UCC, a woman who has been deserted in a live-in relationship can approach the court and is entitled to claim maintenance.

A child in a live-in relationship will be declared the legitimate child of the couple under the UCC provisions.

However, there are exceptions to registration of live-in relationships in Uttarakhand:

* A live-in relationship between two people will not be registered if the partners are in a prohibited relationship.

Prohibited relationships refer to certain familial connections that legally disallow individuals from marrying or engaging in sexual intercourse with each other. These restrictions are based on degrees of consanguinity (blood relation) and, in some cases, affinity (relation by marriage).

* When one of the individuals is married or is already in a live-in relationship.
* When at least one of the individuals is a minor.
* When the consent of one of the partners was obtained by force, coercion, undue influence, misrepresentation or fraud.

How to terminate a live-in relationship:

To end a live-in relationship, both the partners, or either of them, should submit a statement of termination to the Registrar within whose jurisdiction such residents ordinarily reside.

A partner, who wants to end the live-in relationship, should submit a copy of the termination statement to his/her partner.

Courtesy: India Today