New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has clarified that the Senior Citizens Act, 2007 is for the protection of senior citizens and cannot be used for settlement of disputes related to properties. It is the "moral and legal responsibility" of every son to maintain his mother, the court added.
A bench of Justice Subramaniam Prasad stated that Section 4(2) of the Act imposes moral and legal obligation on children to maintain the senior citizens so that they can lead a normal life. It ordered the son to pay Rs 10,000 to his mother every month towards maintenance.
The court was hearing a petition filed by an elderly woman challenging the appellate authority's order of rejecting her application. The woman had earlier filed a petition with the District Magistrate under Section 22(3) of the Delhi Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Rules for her maintenance.
In her petition, the woman had said that her son and daughter-in-law have removed her belongings from the house and so she was unable to reside there. She had also claimed ownership of that house.
The District Magistrate, rejected the woman's petition and said that the ownership was not clear. It also observed that the Power of Attorney on the basis of which the woman claimed ownership could not be proved. Many cases related to property are going on in Saket Court, hence the order cannot be given in favour of the woman, it was stated.
Following which, the woman challenged the District Magistrate's order before the Divisional Commissioner. The Divisional Commissioner approved the order of the District Magistrate. Then the woman had filed a petition in the Delhi High Court against the order of the Divisional Commissioner. The High Court had sent both the parties for mediation on August 9, 2023, which was unsuccessful.
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