Abstract: The institution of live-in relationships - defined as cohabitation between two consenting adults outside the formal framework of marriage - has emerged as a significant and often contentious social phenomenon in contemporary India. As rapid urbanization, liberalized economic policies, and expanding higher education have reshaped the aspirations and lifestyles of younger generations, traditional frameworks of courtship, marriage, and domesticity have come under increasing scrutiny and challenge. This paper examines live-in relationships in India from dual social and political perspectives, analyzing their historical evolution, legal ambiguity, judicial interpretation, legislative responses, and socio-cultural contestations. Drawing upon landmark Supreme Court and High Court judgments, sociological surveys, legislative debates, and feminist discourse, the paper argues that live-in relationships occupy a paradoxical space in Indian public life — simultaneously gaining limited legal recognition while remaining socially stigmatized, morally contested, and politically instrumentalised. The paper further explores the gendered dimensions of cohabitation, the rights of children born from such unions, and the divergent approaches of progressive and conservative political actors. It concludes that the absence of a comprehensive statutory framework, combined with entrenched patriarchal norms and the electoral politics of cultural conservatism, continues to leave partners in live-in relationships — particularly women — in a precarious and legally uncertain position. A nuanced, rights-based legislative approach is proposed to bridge the gap between constitutional guarantees and social reality.

Keywords: Live-in relationship, Article 21, domestic violence, social stigma, personal autonomy, political discourse, Hindu conservatism, gender rights.