Supreme Court Extends Cruelty Law Protection to Live-In Relationships

The Supreme Court has extended Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code to live-in relationships in a landmark judgment. A Division Bench comprising Justices Sanjay Karol and N. Kotiswar Singh ruled that the protection against cruelty applies to relationships between two consenting adults that qualify as "relationships in the nature of marriage" with an established intent to marry.

The Court clarified that this extended interpretation applies only to Section 498-A and shall not affect other provisions. The judgment also mandated strict adherence to safeguards against arrest as laid down in Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar, ensuring no live-in partner or relative is arrested without preliminary precautions.

The ruling, delivered on 3 August 2026, upheld the Karnataka High Court's decision to allow criminal proceedings to continue before the trial court in the case of Lokesh B.H. v. State of Karnataka.