Karnataka High Court: Section 498A Applies to Live-In Relationships with Marital Attributes

The Karnataka High Court held that a woman misled into believing she was married can pursue a cruelty case against her partner even if the relationship is not legally recognised. 

The Court said that the protection under Section 498A IPC extends to void marriages and live-in relationships that bear marital attributes.

It held that a man cannot evade liability by claiming the marriage was invalid when he himself induced the woman into believing they were married. It also noted allegations of dowry harassment and an attempt to burn her.

The Court refused to quash proceedings and directed that both related cases, which were pending before different courts, be clubbed and tried together in Bengaluru.