New Delhi: The bench of Justice MY Eqbal and Justice Amitava Roy of the Supreme Court ruled today that if an unmarried couple is living together as husband and wife, then they would be accepted as legally married and the woman would be eligible to inherit the property after death of her partner.
The bench said continuous cohabitation of a couple would raise the presumption of valid marriage and it would be for the opposite party to prove that they were not legally married.
"It is well settled that the law presumes in favour of marriage and against concubinage, when a man and woman have cohabited continuously for a long time. However, the presumption can be rebutted by leading unimpeachable evidence. A heavy burden lies on a party who seeks to deprive the relationship of legal origin," the bench said.
The bench further added that "Where a man and woman are proved to have lived together as husband and wife, the law will presume, unless the contrary is clearly proved, that they were living together in consequence of a valid marriage, and not in a state of concubinage”.
Since 2010, the Supreme Court has always ruled in favour of couples living together as husband and wife, giving the woman the right of a wife.