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2025 Supreme(Mad) 4114
BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT
L.VICTORIA GOWRI, J.
P.Neelavathi - Appellant
Versus
The District Collector/Appellate Tribunal - Respondent
W.P.(MD).No.23965 of 2022
Decided on : 27-01-2025
Advocate Appeared:
For the Appellant : Mr.P.Yasmin Begum
For the Respondent: Mr.A.Kannan, Mr.M.Suresh Kumar
The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 mandates the protection of senior citizens' rights, ensuring their dignity and livelihood against unlawful interference by family members.
Headnote:(A) Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 - Section 22 - Writ petition seeking implementation of an order for eviction of a son from the mother's property - The petitioner, a senior citizen, faced harassment from her son who occupied her house without permission - The court upheld the order directing eviction and police protection for the petitioner. (Paras 2, 10, 12)
(B) Welfare legislation - The interpretation of beneficial legislation must align with its objectives to uphold the dignity and livelihood of senior citizens. (Paras 11, 12)
Facts of the case:
The petitioner, a 73-year-old mother, sought eviction of her son from her property after he began living there without permission and harassing her. The son had previously been ordered to vacate but continued his interference, leading to legal action.
Findings of Court:
The court directed the authorities to implement the eviction order and ensure the petitioner's peaceful living in her property.
Issues: The main issues included the legal rights of the petitioner as a senior citizen and the enforcement of her property rights against her son.
Ratio Decidendi: The court emphasized the importance of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, asserting that it is the duty of children to care for their parents and that the law protects the rights of senior citizens.
Result: Writ petition allowed.
ORDER :
Heard the learned counsels on either sides and carefully perused the materials available on record.
2. This writ petition is filed seeking to direct the 1st respondent to implement the order passed by him vide proceedings in Na.Ka.No. 13321/2020/G2 dated 17.08.2021 as per the powers vested with him under Section 22 of “The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 and consequently to direct the 1st respondent to take necessary steps directing the specified officer subordinate to him to evict the 3rd respondent from the house property in Door No.3/557, Middle Street, Thenampadugai Post, Via Patteeswaram, Kumbakonam Taluk, Thanjavur District.
3. The petitioner is the mother of the 3rd respondent who is a senior citizen of age 73 years. The petitioner's husband Thiru.Late.Palani was working as Assistant Director in Ex-Servicemen Welfare Department, Thanjavur district, and he passed away on 15.10.2018. One of his daughter namely, Tmt.Uma Devi, pre-deceased him as early as in the year 2006. The petitioner's husband was survived by his wife, that is, the petitioner and five children, namely, Tmt.Selvi, Thiru.Kumara Vadivel, Thiru.Balamurugan, Thiru.Shanmugasundaram and Thiru.Gurunathan, that is, the 3rd respondent. The 3rd respondent is the eldest son of the petitioner and her husband Thiru.Late.Palani. On 15.10.2018 when Thiru.Late.Palani expired, the petitioner's first son, that is, the 3rd respondent visited the petitioner's house for attending the funeral of his father and thereafter he started living along with his family comprising his wife and two children in the upstairs portion of the petitioner's house without the permission of the petitioner. In due course of time, he started troubling the petitioner to the extent that she could not continue her peaceful life in the downstairs portion of the house property wherein she was residing in door No. 3/557 Middle Street, Thenampadugai post of Kumbakonam Taluk.
4. Hence, the petitioner filed a complaint before the 2nd respondent on 15.02.2019 under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, and filed a civil suit in O.S.No. 219 of 2019 as against the 3rd respondent seeking to restrain the 3rd respondent and his men from interfering with the peaceful possession and enjoyment of the house property in door No.3/557 of Middle Street, Thenampadugai post. In I.A.No. 436 of 2019 of O.S.No.219 of 2019 on the file of the District Munsif Judge's Court at Kumbakonam, an interim injunction was granted in favour of the petitioner on 29.04.2019 restraining the 3rd respondent from interfering with the peaceful possession and enjoyment of the said house property. Under such background, the 3rd respondent assaulted the petitioner and she was admitted in the hospital for nearly five days and he also trespassed into her cultivating land with his men and had forcibly taken away the entire black gram crops worth Rs.40,000/- (Rupees Forty Thousand only).
5. In this regard, two first information reports in Crime No.147 of 2019 and 41 of 2020 came to be registered on 29.09.2019 and 26.02.2020 as against the 3rd respondent by the Inspector of Police, Patteeswaram Police Station, Thanjavur. In the meanwhile, the 2nd respondent, by an order dated 25.04.2020 after conducting an elaborate enquiry passed an order directing the 3rd respondent to vacate the upstair portion of the subject house and hand over the possession of the same back to the petitioner and seek his remedy by filing an appropriate suit for partition before the competent Civil Court.
6. Aggrieved by the order, the 3rd respondent filed an appeal petition before the 1st respondent and pending the said proceedings, he also filed a parallel writ petition in W.P.(MD)No. 12354 of 2020, challenging the order passed by the 2nd respondent and this Court, by its order dated 07.01.2021 partly allowed the writ petition of the 3rd respondent and the relevant portion of the said order is extracted as follo
