Son & wife’s eviction must from aged parents’ home for safety: HC

Nagpur: Coming to the rescue of elderly parents, the Nagpur bench of Bombay high court upheld the eviction of their son and daughter-in-law from their own home for allegedly harassing them.
In the process, the HC also delivered an important ruling that the tribunal hearing cases under Section 7 of the ‘Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizen Act, 2007’ has powers to evict the son and relatives of the senior citizens.
Upholding the tribunal’s orders, justice Rohit Deo said he had no doubt that the emotional and physical well-being of the aged parents cannot be ensured unless the son and his wife vacate the self-acquired residential house of the former.
“If the senior citizens are harassed and have genuine reasons to perceive that their emotional and or physical well-being and security is under threat, I do not see any reason to hold that the tribunal has no power to direct eviction. I have no hesitation in observing that an order of eviction is absolutely necessary to ensure the physical and emotional health and safety of the parents,” the judge said.
The petition was filed by a 56-year-old man and his wife against his 78-year-old father and 67-year-old mother challenging the January 21, 2020, order of tribunal that had directed them to vacate the parents’ self-acquired residential house.
The petitioners from Hansapuri in the city contended that the Act does not envisage a remedy of eviction, and the tribunal committed a jurisdictional error in virtually treating the application under the Act as a suit for vacating the home. They claimed that the aged parents had lost their mental balance and were leveling serious allegations.
Opposing their contentions, parents’ counsel Pradeep Wathore said the eviction order can be passed by the tribunal to ensure the security and safety of the parents and senior citizens.
The tribunal found that there is a real possibility of safety and security of the aged parents being jeopardized, and therefore, directed eviction.
Justice Deo noted that there is no dispute the petitioners are residing in the self-acquired property of the respondents.
“While there is a general denial of the averments by the petitioners, the language used and the grave allegations levelled against the aged parents is a reason to hold that their safety and security shall be in jeopardy unless the son and his wife are evicted.”
The judge said in the conservative Indian society, a son is not expected to brand his father a ‘swindler’ or then allege that the aged parents have lost mental balance.
“The allegations that the aged parents have been physically assaulted along with the other son, and that visitors are prevented from entering the residential house, are not specifically traversed,” he said, before dismissing the case.