The Bombay High Court ruled that elderly parents can take back a share in their property given to a son as a gift if he fails to look after them or harasses them owing to the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007.
Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007
A division bench of Justices Ranjit More and Anuja Prabhudesai cited the special law for the maintenance of senior citizens, upholding the decision of a tribunal which ordered to withdraw an Andheri resident’s gift deed to his son with 50 per cent share in the flat.
- The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 makes it a legal obligation for children to provide for their elderly parents.
- Senior citizens (above 60 years of age) who cannot maintain themselves from their own earning or out of the property or any asset owned by them, are entitled to make an application under the maintenance law.
- The special tribunal can grant maintenance of upto Rs.10,000/- to the maintenance claim.
- Senior citizens who do not have children can claim maintenance from an adult relative who is in possession of their property or will inherit the property after their death.
- Adult children or grandchildren (irrespective of the gender) are liable to pay maintenance.
The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 has provisions that protect parents (and elderly persons) who have signed away their property or assets to a person so that they would be taken care of but are then left un-attended or mistreated.
Present case
In the present case, Natvar Sanghvi of Mumbai wanted to remarry after the death his wife and he gave a 50 per cent share of his flat in Brooklyn Hills Co-operative Housing Society to his son Pritish Sanghvi and his daughter-in-law.
But after Natvar Sanghvi remarried, he alleged that his son and daughter-in-law started mistreating his second wife after which he left the flat and started living in a rented premise. He then approached the suburban collector under section 5 and 23 of the parents and senior citizens law to reclaim the flat from his son.
Bombay HC rejected the petition of Pritish Sanghvi to take back the flat
Bombay HC stood by the collector’s direction to Pritish Sanghvi to return the share of his father’s Andheri property, thus rejecting the petition.
A division bench of Justice Ranjit More and Justice Anuja Prabhudesai, while recently hearing the man’s petition challenging the collector’s decision, said, “It is implied that the father and his second wife would be looked after by the son and his wife after transferring 50 per cent shares of the flat In the above circumstances, we do not find any error in the order of the collector; therefore, we are not inclined to entertain this petition.”