Regulating Cohabitation: The Uneasy Future of Live-In Relationships under the Uniform Civil Code

The introduction of mandatory registration requirements for live-in relationships under the Uniform Civil Code represents a significant shift in the legal regulation of intimate personal relationships in India. This paper critically examines the constitutional, philosophical, and practical implications of subjecting cohabitation to formal state oversight. It argues that mandatory registration undermines the fundamental distinction between marriage and live-in relationships by imposing institutional consequences upon arrangements deliberately chosen to remain outside the marital framework. Through analysis of judicial precedents, including D. Velusamy v. D. Patchaiammal and Indra Sarma v. V.K.V. Sarma, the paper demonstrates that Indian courts have historically adopted a protective rather than regulatory approach, extending legal safeguards without formalising status. Drawing upon philosophical theories of liberty advanced by Isaiah Berlin and John Stuart Mill, the paper contends that compulsory registration risks transforming legitimate state interest in preventing harm into unjustified intrusion upon personal autonomy, privacy, and decisional freedom. While acknowledging the state's role in preventing exploitation and protecting vulnerable individuals, the paper argues that coercive formalisation may produce counterproductive outcomes, including increased secrecy, reduced autonomy, and greater vulnerability. It concludes that the legitimacy of regulating cohabitation depends upon preserving the voluntary and non-institutional character of such relationships, and that excessive state intervention risks eroding the constitutional commitment to individual liberty under the guise of legal uniformity.