A draft Bill to amend the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 has provisions to arraign sons-in-law and daughters-in-law if they fail to look after their aged in-laws and provide monthly maintenance.

The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens (Amendment) Bill, 2019, which has been cleared by the Union Cabinet and is likely to be introduced in Parliament soon, also removes the cap of Rs 10,000 as maximum maintenance.

Now those who earn more should pay more to their parents as maintenance.

Violators of the law could be punished with a minimum fine of Rs 5,000 or three months jail term or both.

Some features added in the Bill include preference to applications of those senior citizens above 80-years old if they lodge a complaint about their neglect by their children or non-payment of maintenance.

All senior citizen's homes/home care service agencies should register themselves with the authorities concerned, the Bill mandates.

Similarly, there would be minimum standards prescribed for senior citizen care homes as per the draft Bill.

There would be nodal officers for senior citizens in every police station or district level special police unit to hear their grievances.

A dedicated helpline number would be available for senior citizens in every state to convey their problems.

The definition 'maintenance' has been expanded to include the safety and security of the parents besides taking care of their food, clothing, housing, and health care obligations.

If senior citizens are neglected or not maintained by their children or their sons-in-law or daughters-in-law, they could approach the maintenance tribunal for justice.

This is the first major amendment to the legislation implemented in 2007.

The bill seeks to amend Section 24, which as of now punishes only 'exposure and abandonment of senior citizens'. The suggested amendment now criminalizes 'abuses and abandonment' as well. It reads as follows:

Whoever, having the care or protection of a parent or senior citizen, intentionally abuses or abandons such parent or senior citizen, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three months, but which may extend to six months or with fine up to ten thousand rupees or with both.
Explanation.—For the purposes of this section, the term "abuse" includes physical abuse, verbal and emotional abuse and economic abuse, neglect and abandonment causing assault, injury, physical or mental suffering.

Other salient features of the Amendment Bill are as follows:

(a) expand the scope of the Act by modifying the definitions of 'children', 'parents', 'maintenance', 'welfare' and 'senior citizens', to enable parents and senior citizens to lead a life of dignity;

(b) enlarge the mode of submission of application for maintenance by the parents or senior citizens;

(c) provide for expeditious disposal of maintenance applications with special reference to the applications of senior citizens above eighty years of age, so as to enable parents or senior citizens to receive necessary relief;

(d) remove the upper limit of rupees ten thousand as monthly maintenance amount that may be awarded by the Tribunal;

(e) extend the right to file an appeal to children and relatives also who is aggrieved by the order of the Maintenance Tribunal, if they continue to pay the maintenance amount as ordered by the Maintenance Tribunal;

(f) provide for the registration of Senior Citizens' Care Homes, Multi-Service Day Care Centre for Senior Citizens and Institutions providing Homecare Services for Senior Citizens and their minimum standards;

(g) constitute Special Police Unit for Senior Citizens in each district and appoint Nodal Officers for Senior Citizens in every Police Station;

(h) maintain Helpline for senior citizens;

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