New Delhi: Rajya Sabha member and BJP leader Ajay Pratap Singh on Wednesday urged the government to illegalise live-in relationships, the Indian Express reported.Singh was addressing the Rajya Sabha during Special Mentions when he cited a recent murder case of one Saraswati Vaidya in Mumbai, who was allegedly killed by her live-in partner, the report said.To support his plea, Singh cited WHO data and said that nearly 38% of all murders of women in the world are by their intimate partners – without clarifying that the WHO data includes those who are married.“Marriage and family ties are a cultural heritage in India. Our religious scriptures and customs do not grant recognition to live-ins,” Singh said.Noting that the Supreme Court has recognised live-in relationships, the BJP MP said, “The court said that Indian society considers it unethical but it’s not illegal. I believe if this is unethical, then it should be illegal, too. The government should take cognisance of this and bring a law so that this subculture can be stopped and women can be protected.”It may be noted that, according to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), nearly 30% or every 1 in 3 married women experienced domestic or sexual violence and 3.1% pregnant women suffered physical violence during their pregnancy.The Supreme Court in February 2023 also called the implementation of the domestic violence act “dismal” as there were 4.7 lakh domestic violence cases pending across 801 districts in the country.
