Self-styled godman Asaram arrives in Jodhpur on May 28, 2026.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Jaipur:

A single-judge bench of the Rajasthan High Court has directed the state government to launch a web portal to register live-in relationships.

Hearing a bunch of pleas filed by several live-in couples seeking protection, Justice Annop Kumar Dhand observed that till such a law is enacted, live-in-relationships must be registered with a competent authority/tribunal.

“Several couples are residing in a ‘live-in’ relationship and are facing threat and danger from their families and the society for non-acceptance of their relationship status. Hence, they are approaching the courts by way of filing writ petitions under Article 226 of the Constitution, seeking protection under Article 21. As a result, courts are inundated with such petitions,” the bench noted.

Stressing the necessity to regulate live-in relationships which the court termed “unique”, the bench said, “The idea of live-in relationship may seem to be unique and appealing, but in reality the problems likely to arise are many, and challenging. The status of a woman in such a relationship is not that of a wife, and lacks social approval or sanctity.” The bench noted that the live-in-relationship agreement is liable to be registered by a competent authority/tribunal, which is required to be established by the government.

“Till the enactment of an appropriate legislation by the government, let a competent authority be established in each district to look into the matter of registering live-in-relationships, who will address and redress the grievances of such partners/couples who have entered into such a relationship and the children being born out therefrom.

“Let a website or web portal be launched in this regard for the redressal of the issue arising out of such a relationship,” the bench said.

The bench directed that a copy of the order be sent to the chief secretary, principal secretary, department of law and justice, as well as to the secretary, department of justice and social welfare, New Delhi, to look into the matter and do the needful.

“They are further directed to send a compliance report to this court on or before 01.03.2025 and apprise this court about the steps being taken by them,” the bench said.

The court also referred to a larger bench of the high court to decide if married persons opting for live-in relationships without dissolving their marriage are entitled to seek protection order from the court.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Jodhpur:

The Rajasthan High Court on Tuesday granted interim bail till March 31 to self-styled godman Asaram, who is serving life imprisonment in a 2013 rape case. This comes a week after the Supreme Court granted him bail till March 31 in another rape case, observing that he suffered from various ailments and needed treatment.

Soon after the top court granted him relief on medical grounds, Asaram’s counsels moved a suspension of sentence plea in the high court.

A division bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Vineet Kumar Mathur granted interim bail to Asaram considering that the nature of the plea was similar to the one filed in the Supreme Court.

“We argued that the plea was similar in nature to that filed in the Supreme Court and the grounds stand valid in this case as well,” Asaram’s counsel Nishant Bora said.

He said the conditions for Asaram’s interim bail are the same as those set by the top court on January 7 except one.

“If Asaram wants to travel outside (Jodhpur), he will have to bear the expenses of the three constables who have been asked to accompany him,” Bora said.

A lower court sentenced Asaram to life imprisonment in April 2018 for raping a minor at his ashram in Jodhpur in 2013.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

A sexual harassment case cannot be cancelled because the complainant and the accused have reached a ‘compromise’, the Supreme Court ruled today. The court set aside a Rajasthan High Court order, which had given relief to a teacher accused of sexually harassing his minor student, and ordered his prosecution.

The matter relates to a 2022 case in Rajasthan’s Gangapur city. A minor Dalit girl accused a government school teacher for sexual harassment in a police complaint. Accordingly, a case was filed. The case also invoked the POCSO Act and SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The minor’s statement was also recorded.

However, the accused teacher, Vimal Kumar Gupta, got a statement from the girl’s family on a stamp paper. This statement said that they registered a police complaint out of a misunderstanding and no longer wanted any action against the teacher. Police accepted this and filed a report. But a lower court rejected this statement. The accused then approached the high court, which accepted it and ordered the FIR cancelled. Ramji Lal Bairwa, a social worker, challenged this high court judgment in the Supreme Court. The bench of Justice CT Ravikumar and Justice PV Sanjay Kumar overturned the high court ruling, clearing the decks for the accused teacher’s prosecution.