CHENNAI, India (RNS) India’s highest court has ruled that unmarried couples have the right to live together and there is nothing illegal in live-in relationships between consenting adults.

“When two adult people want to live together, what is the offense? Living together is a right to life,” a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court in New Delhi said in a March 23 decision.

The judges’ ruling came during a case involving a popular south Indian movie actress, Khushboo Sundar, who was accused of corrupting young minds with her controversial views on premarital sex, virginity and live-in relationships.

The actress, popularly known as Khushboo, appealed to the Supreme Court to quash more than 20 criminal cases filed against her in various courts in the country in 2005 after she allegedly endorsed premarital sex in press interviews. Khushboo had reportedly told one publication that “no educated man would expect his (bride) to be a virgin.”

Khushboo, a Muslim by birth who is married to a leading Hindu filmmaker, appealed to the Supreme Court after the High Court in the southern city of Chennai in 2008 rejected her plea to reject the numerous criminal cases filed against her in the state of Tamil Nadu.

The Supreme Court judges questioned attorneys for some of the complainants and repeatedly said the perceived “immoral activities” could not be branded an offense. “How does it concern you?” they asked. They further said the views expressed by Khushboo were personal.

The judges pointed out that even the Hindu god Lord Krishna had lived with Radha, according to mythology, as cohabiting lovers rather than as man and wife.