JUDGMENT :

Vinod Chandran, J.

“Children begin by loving their parents; as they grow older they judge them; sometimes they forgive them”.

[Oscar Wilde]

Only sometimes; but that is no reason to stop loving them, refuse to care for them and alienate them, is the principle on which the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 [for brevity 'the Act'] has been interpreted in majority of the decisions of this Court and some other High Courts. Certain Benches trode a different path to find that the statute though inspired by traditional values, all the same has to be interpreted strictly and there could be no question of unrequited love raised; to bring in drastic consequences to the rights on property gifted or settled by reason of the love and affection of the donor or settler for the beneficiary. The matter is placed before us through a reference made by a Division Bench seeking resolution of the conflict; specifically on the extent to which Section 23 of the Act could proceed in annulling such rights obtained in immovable property by transfer inter-vivos. We would refer to the conflicting decisions as we record the arguments.

2. Smt. Parvathi Menon, learned Counsel a