LACK OF UNIFORM LEGAL PROTECTION FOR CHILDREN BORN OUT OF LIVE-IN RELATIONSHIPS IN INDIA

AUTHOR – DAYA RAJESH, STUDENT AT CHRIST (DEEMED TO BE UNIVERSITY)

BEST CITATION – DAYA RAJESH, LACK OF UNIFORM LEGAL PROTECTION FOR CHILDREN BORN OUT OF LIVE-IN RELATIONSHIPS IN INDIA, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 6 (3) OF 2026, PG. 188-197, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.

Abstract

Live-in relationships are becoming more common in India as society moves toward new definitions of family and changes other social customs and beliefs. Despite a large body of supportive case law by the courts, there remain gaps in terms of providing children from live-in relationships with legal protection in family law areas such as child support (maintenance), inheritance, custody issues, and other matters. In criminal proceedings (for example, child support), Section 125 of the CrPC provides for “neutral” (all religions receive the same protection) financial support regardless of the parents’ religious affiliation, but the rights to other types of support (for example, the right to inherit or have coparcenary rights) are still substantially dependent on how courts interpret Indian personal law. Courts in India continue to issue decisions emphasizing that there should be no prejudice to a child because of their parent’s marital status, which has also led to the Supreme Court of India so much more clearly articulated that children from live-in relationships are entitled to an inheritance from both parents; however, these rulings are mostly judge-made law with little to no legislative support, resulting in disparities in outcomes for children, evidence issues about who their father is and enforcing support. There are issues with the lack of a national registry for recording live-in relationships, results of variations between different personal laws, and other issues further complicating providing children with consistent protection across India. The authors of this paper believe that legislative reform is necessary and call for a national live-in law, reform of laws relating to succession to make equal rights to property available regardless of personal law, and for a greater degree of uniformity in how to implement constitutional guarantees of fairness, dignity, and welfare for all children.

Key Words – Live-in relationships, Child rights, Legitimacy, Maintenance, Inheritance, Coparcenary rights, Custody and welfare, Personal law disparities, Constitutional equality, Legislative reform.