Senior Citizens Act: Parents entitled to evict the children even if there is no ill treatment [Read the Order]

Justice Navin Chawla in Delhi High Court has held that a senior citizen has a right to evict his children from the property even if no ill treatment is done. The case is titled as Sandeep Gulati vs Divisional Commissioner decided on 13.03.2020.

Petitions were filed to challenge the order dated 20.02.2020 passed by the learned Appellate Tribunal under the provisions of the Delhi Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens, Rules, 2009 as amended from time to time in appeal ordering eviction of the petitioners from house bearing No.C-117, East of Kailash, New Delhi.

The primary contentions of the learned counsels for the petitioner(s) is that the suit property does not belong exclusively to the respondent nos.2 and 3 but is a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) property, wherein the petitioner also has a share being a co-parcenar. 

The learned counsels for the petitioner(s) also argued that there is no proof of any ill-treatment of the respondent nos.2 and 3 by the petitioners. The respondent nos.2 and 3 have taken out various proceedings including filing of civil suit as also filing of the criminal complaint against the petitioner, however, the same remained unsubstantiated and, in fact, Closure Reports have been filed in the complaints filed by the respondent nos.2 and 3.

Delhi High Court observed and held as under:

"In any case, this Court, in its judgment dated 18.07.2018 passed in WP(C) 6592/2018, titled Smt. Darshna v. Government of NCT of Delhi & Ors., has held that it is apparent from the plain language of Rule 22(3)(1)(i) that a senior citizen is also entitled to evict his son, daughter or legal heir from his property irrespective of whether it is an ancestral or self-acquired property........

The scope of the proceedings under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 as also the Rules is to grant protection to the parents, including with respect to their property.

The scope of this Act is not to punish the children and therefore, once it is established that the children have no right over the property of the parents, the fact that the parents do not wish to have their children staying with them is enough for invoking the Act and the Rules.....

A reading of the above judgments would clearly show that a senior citizen is merely to show that his property needs protection and need not necessarily have to show that he/she needs maintenance or has been ill-treated by the son or other legal heir.

In any case, nature of possession of the petitioner(s) being that of a licencee and there admittedly being a series of litigations between them and the respondent nos.2 and 3 herein, the order of eviction cannot be faulted".

Read the Order here:

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