New Delhi: Widening the scope of Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, the Supreme Court Monday ruled that the provision, which deals with cruelty by a husband or his relatives, would also apply to partners in live-in relationships if an intention to marry is proven. A bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and N Kotiswar Singh said a man in a live-in relationship can be prosecuted for subjecting a woman to cruelty if the relationship is “like marriage”. “Section 498A is held to apply to ‘live-in relationships’ that qualify as ‘relationships like marriage’ with the intent to marry being established as an intrinsic part thereof;“The ‘live-in relationships’ protected by Section 498A, it is stated for ample clarity, are those that are between two consenting adult individuals. The proposition of law as laid down shall be limited to Section 498A IPC only, and this extended interpretation shall not affect any other provision,” the bench said. The judgement came while dealing with a question whether a man who is in a live-in relationship can be prosecuted under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.