Nagpur: Judicial magistrate first class (JMFC), Gondpipri, Chandrapur, TP Mote made a couple stand in his court the entire working hours for abandoning 74-year-old father of the husband and denying him food for 12 years. The court has also fined the couple Rs 2,000 each after they admitted their offence in the first week of November.
This is likely to be the first conviction in Vidarbha under less known enactment for protection of the elderly from domestic violence.
Jayant Dohone and his wife Vijaya were booked under Section 24 of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, following a complaint from Bhagwan Dohone at Dabha police station in Gondpipri in October this year. Bhagwan had stated his son and daughter-in-law Vijaya had compelled him to beg and eat leftovers from neighbours since 2008. He was also denied meeting with his granddaughter. The couple also used to taunt him. Jayant worked as a farm labourer.
It is learnt Jayant and Vijaya admitted their guilt before the court and pleaded to be exonerated. The court stated it had considered that it was the first offence of the couple and also their weak economic condition in its order that has helped the senior citizen receive food from his family.
Asst PI Sushil Dhokte of Dabha police station, who was stunned to hear the senior citizen’s agony, decided to take legal recourse rather than opting to settle the family dispute through counselling and preventive action. “It is a fact that such disputes within family are generally dealt with through non-cognizable offences under Indian Penal Code (IPC) but I decided to take a more concrete step. After referring to law books and discussing with my seniors, I came across a provision under the less known Act for the senior citizens,” he said.
Under Section 24 of the Act, the perpetrators can face imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three months or fine up to Rs 5,000 or both.
Dhokte said he prepared the chargesheet soon after registering the FIR and sent it to court. “We had recorded the statements of the house owners who used to provide Bhagwan food against some work. Bhagwan was dominated and tortured in the house because of his age but the property belonged to him. We also presented the property documents before the court to argue that the senior citizen was ill-treated in the house that belonged to him,” said Dhokte.