The Rajasthan High Court has ruled that two adults are free to choose a live-in relationship even if they have not reached the legal age required for marriage.

The ruling came from Justice Anoop Dhand while hearing a protection plea filed by an 18-year-old woman and a 19-year-old man from Kota.

The couple told the court they were living together voluntarily and had executed a live-in agreement on October 27, 2025. They said the woman’s family opposed the relationship and had threatened to kill them.

Their complaint to the Kota police, according to the petition, went unaddressed.

Public prosecutor Vivek Choudhary opposed the plea and argued that the man, being under 21, the minimum legal age for men to marry, should not be allowed to be in a live-in partnership.

The court rejected that argument. It said the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution cannot be curtailed “merely because the petitioners are not of marriageable age.”

Justice Dhand added, “The state has a constitutional obligation to safeguard the life and liberty of every individual,” and noted that live-in relationships are neither prohibited nor criminalised in Indian law.

The court has directed the superintendents of police of Bhilwara and Jodhpur (rural) to verify the facts mentioned in the petition, assess the threat and provide protection to the couple if required.