The Supreme Court Wednesday dismissed nearly two dozen criminal cases against Tamil actress Khushboo for making a controversial statement endorsing pre-marital sex and live-in relationships.

A bench comprising Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justice B.S. Chauhan quashed 22 criminal cases against her saying that her statement on the issue of pre-marital sex and live-in relationships was her personal view and the Indian constitution entitles her to express it.

Khushboo had challenged the 2008 ruling of the Madras High Court, which had dismissed her plea to scrap various criminal cases against her for the controversial remark.

In a speech earlier, Khushboo had said there was nothing wrong with pre-marital sex and live-in relationships. In its ruling the bench asked: "When two adults want to live together, what is the offence? Does it amount to an offence? Living together is not an offence. It cannot be an offence."

The court had said the views expressed by her were personal. And no one had the right to question the personal thinking of a person, the court said.

The bench had also asked the complainants to produce evidence of any girls eloping after the statement.