Sex before marriage is marriage, says a court. Or does it?

If journalism was ever supposed to be literature in a hurry, then the social media lot could be said to sometimes behave like hacks on speed.

As news reports emerged that the Madras High Court had, in a judgment, deemed consenting adults having pre-marital sex to be ‘married’ afterwards, jokes started doing the rounds. It was quickly accepted that the court had delivered a howler.

After all, the younger lot has a rather different way of looking at things. And to them the idea that indulging in ‘sexual gratification’, as the court put it, meant a boy and girl were to be considered husband and wife was tantamount to what is called a ‘face-palm’ moment.

‘I got married yesterday,’ chirped a critic. ‘ Wedding rings available at all chemists now,’ said another. The sarcasm, shall we say, was palpable. Another news report, however, pointed out that the court had actually been hearing a case about a chap refusing his former live-in partner, with whom he’d had two children, maintenance money.

And that this judgment, therefore, was a bit of progress in offering protection to people in relationships, without getting legally married. But then again, one wonders about the wider legal implications of the ruling on adults choosing to, again as the court put it, ‘consummate their sexual cravings’. Some things remain fuzzy in India.