HC: Those in ‘Live-in Relationships’ Disqualified for Judge Post

Applicants whose spouse is alive will be disqualified for the judge post if they are in a live-in relationship.

According to a report in The Hindu, a notification by the Madras High Court on Tuesday, 8 January, which seeks applications from advocates and civil judges for the direct recruitment of district judge in Puducherry Judicial Service, states that applicants who are in a live-in relationship with someone whose husband or wife is alive shall be disqualified.

Additionally, The Hindu notes that according to the notification the applicants whose spouse is alive, but who are in a live-in relationship with a partner, will be disqualified. This rule is irrespective of whether that person is married or not.

According to The Hindu, the notification necessitates every advocate who applies for the post to turn in conduct certificates from 3 individuals. This must include one senior lawyer and “two responsible persons, not being relatives but well acquainted with the applicants in their private life.”

Speaking to The Hindu, Justice D Hariparanthaman, an ex-judge of the Madras High Court, stated, “The insistence on not having live-in relationships is basically moral regulations touching upon personal lives of the candidates and I feel they are completely unnecessary because they do not have any relation to the official work expected to be performed by a government servant or a judicial officer. Western countries do not have such regulations.”

(Written with inputs from The Hindu.)