Live-in means to live in commitment: Court

A live-in relationship is not just about living together but a commitment to be together, a Delhi court Thursday said while convicting an MBA student for raping his partner on the pretext of marrying her.

"Concept of live-in relationship does not mean merely residing together. Rather, it means to live in a commitment or in a relation of being together in future," said Additional Sessions Judge Yogesh Khanna, while convicting Hari Mohan Sharma, 31.

The court will pronounce the sentence Dec 13.

The court said that in Indian society, when a woman enters into "a live-in relationship", she has marriage in mind.

The court noted that the woman in question was forced to abort their foetus.

The court said: "However, when such a relationship ends abruptly, it means a lot to the woman."

Sharma, from Uttar Pradesh, was accused by his partner, a law student, of raping her several times between December 2010 and January 2011 on the pretext of marrying her.

Police said the woman had lodged a complaint in August 2011 when she became pregnant and Sharma refused to marry her, saying his parents were against her. Sharma denied raping the woman.

The court held that the intention of the accused was never honest and he kept on promising her that he would marry her.