One-night stand cannot amount to marriage, says Bombay HC

In an important order, the Bombay High Court said that a physical relationship between a man and a woman by choice or by chance or by accident does not fall under the the definition of marriage under Hindu laws.

It also pointed out that a baby born out of such an encounter and if the couple has not been married will have no rights over the father's property.

The strong observations were made by a single-judge bench of Justice Mridula Bhatkar of the Bombay High Court who said,''Broadly, either customary solemnisation of marriage is required or performance of legal formality is a condition precedent to label that relationship as a marriage. Any sexual intercourse which took place by choice or by chance or by accident is not a marriage.''

Justice Bhatkar also pointed out at the rise in live-in relationships in the Indian society, that is now-a-days accepted as a particular mode of social bonding like marriage.

Under the Hindu Marriage Act, marriage, even if subsequently declared as void, has to be proved to decide the rights of the child.

OneIndia News