Progressive thinking

The latest ruling in a string of progressive judgements by the SC establishes that children born out of a live-in relationship are legitimate and that the parents would be presumed to have been married. The order will not only go a long way in settling disputes over property, which in a majority of such cases is the underlying reason for litigation, but also uphold the human rights of people born in an era of changing social mores.

Already in the US, more children are born out of wedlock than in formal marriages and the statistics on this in the UK is expected to catch up in a couple of years. Given the fact that live-in relationships are common in some parts of the country it is time the rights of such children are also respected. A few lower court judgements in the Delhi, Allahabad and Madras HCs had run counter to this argument in specific cases.

Such judgements, upholding humanitarian causes like the one which recognised transgenders as a third gender, symbolise the very modern thinking visible of late in the top court. It is also why shibboleths are more likely to be shunted quickly to history. Even so, what still rankles is the existence of the IPC’s Section 377, regarding gay sex, and the pressing need for legislators to think progressively and repeal archaic laws. The wise judges have contributed much to the clear thinking of the day.