The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that paying maintenance to elderly parents does not prevent them from seeking eviction of their children from occupied property. In a case filed by 90-year-old Gurdev Kaur, the court ordered her son, a government employee, to vacate her house. Despite paying maintenance, he refused to relinquish possession. The court emphasized that accepting maintenance does not prevent eviction. The ruling underscores the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act's aim to protect elderly rights. It prevents the misuse of maintenance payments and ensures vulnerable senior citizens' welfare, setting a precedent for similar cases.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has clarified that merely paying maintenance to elderly parents does not prevent the parents from seeking eviction of their children from the occupied property.
The Court made this clear while allowing a petition filed by 90-year-old Gurdev Kaur, a widow from Hoshiarpur district in Punjab. She sought possession of her house from her son, who had been given a government job on compassionate grounds after her husband's death.
The woman had been running from pillar to post since 2015 to get her due. She had approached the high court to implement a 2018 order by the Hoshiarpur District Magistrate, directing her son to pay INR 3,000 monthly maintenance and hand over the house owned by her.
Her son had challenged the order under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, but his plea was dismissed in April 2022. However, he did not relinquish possession of the house.
The son argued that since, during the pendency of the writ petition, he paid arrears of maintenance, his mother cannot seek his eviction from the premises. However, the HC held that merely accepting maintenance does not preclude eviction. The HC has now directed the Hoshiarpur Deputy Commissioner to take the help of the Senior Superintendent of Police to regain possession of the house, and act against anyone obstructing the order.
It observed that the son's conduct was unfortunate, as he had thrown out his 90-year-old mother from her own house. While she lived in a small rented home, he drew a INR 45,000 salary but paid no maintenance. The HC directed the son to vacate the house and pay the required maintenance.
On similar lines, the Delhi High Court had earlier allowed a senior citizen's plea to evict her son and daughter in law.
The ?Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act? provides for the maintenance and welfare of parents and senior citizens in a timely and cost-effective way.
This ruling upholds the rights of senior citizens enshrined in the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act. While the Act aims to provide maintenance and welfare to the elderly, the courts have rightly held that it cannot be misused to settle property disputes. Where children fail to adequately provide for parents' residence and maintenance as required by law, the courts will intervene to protect the interests of vulnerable senior citizens through measures like eviction orders.
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