An adult woman in India can legally live with a married man if she chooses. Such a relationship is not considered a crime under Indian law.
Recently, the Madhya Pradesh High Court clarified that there is no legal restriction on a woman above 18 cohabiting with a married man, as long as it is her voluntary decision.
The case involved a woman, referred to as Corpus X, whose family filed a habeas corpus petition after she eloped with a married man. The Court stressed that an adult woman is not property and has the right to make her own life choices.
It further noted that Indian law does not ban such living arrangements, even if the man already has a wife. However, if the woman marries him, only the first wife can file a bigamy case, since bigamy is a non-cognizable offence in India.
The High Court also ordered the woman’s release after she signed an undertaking confirming that she was acting on her own will. The judgement reaffirmed that consenting adults have autonomy in their relationships and courts should focus on legality, not morality.
