Emerging concepts: Maitri Sambandh and divided home

Two adults in Ahmedabad sign a friendship agreement and set up home together without marrying. Two parents in Mumbai separate, and their eight-year-old spends weekdays in one flat and weekends in another. Neither household fits the old picture of a married couple under one roof, yet both will one day end up before a court. How does Indian family law treat families that do not look like the statute book expects?

In two minutes

Emerging family forms, such as unmarried partnerships often called Maitri Sambandh and households divided across two homes, are dealt with through existing statutes rather than a dedicated code, chiefly the Domestic Violence Act 2005 and the custody and guardianship provisions.

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