The central legal point established is the authority of the Maintenance Tribunal to pass eviction orders under Section 23 of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents & Senior Citizens Act, 2007, and the significance of non-speaking orders in judicial scrutiny.

JUDGMENT :

Vikas Bahl, J.

Present writ petition has been filed under Article 226/227 of the Constitution of India for the issuance of a writ in the nature of certiorari or any other appropriate writ or direction for setting aside the order dated 13.11.2019 (Annexure P-6) vide which the application moved by the petitioner/senior citizen under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents & Senior Citizens Act, 2007 (hereinafter referred as 'Act of 2007') for protection of life and property has been dismissed.

2. Learned senior counsel for the petitioner has submitted that in the present case, a cryptic and non-speaking order dated 13.11.2019 (Annexure P-6) has been passed without going into the merits of the case and without considering the contentions of the parties. It is further submitted that the said order being cryptic and non-speaking deserves to be set aside on the said ground alone.

3. Learned State counsel has pointed out that in the present case, a prayer for eviction has been made in the proceedings before the District Magistrate, but on account of the judgment passed by a Coordinate Bench of this Court in CWP-4744-2018 titled as "Simrat Randhawa Vs. State of Punjab and others", the District Magistrate is not authorized to pass an eviction order, but however, the Maintenance Tribunal can pass the eviction order in view of the provisions of Section 23 of the Act of 2007 and for the said purpose, learned State counsel has relied upon the instructions dated 29.11.2023, issued by the Director General, Social Justice, Empowerment, Welfare of SCs & BCs and Antyodaya (SEWA) Department, Haryana, Chandigarh. The said instructions dated 29.11.2023 are reproduced herein under: -

"From

Director General

Social Justice, Empowerment, Welfare of SCs & BCs and Antyodaya (SEWA) Department,

Haryana, Chandigarh

To,

Advocate General, Haryana

The Hon'ble Punjab and Haryana High Court Chandigarh

No.21754 OAH/SEWA/2023 Dated 29-11-2023

Subject: CWP No. 26035 of 2023 titled as Smt. Sheela Devi Vs District Collector-cum-Presiding Officer under Maintenance Tribunal, Gurugram and ors.

With reference to your D.O. No.3679 dated 23.04.2023 on subject cited above, it is submitted that the Hon'ble High Court, passing the orders dated 29.11.2023 in the subject captioned writ petition, raised some queries on the following points:

i) Whether after passing of the judgments of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Smt.S.Vanitha's case (supra) and of this Court in Ravi Kumar's case (supra), which has been upheld by the Hon'ble Division Bench of this Court in LPA-1387-2023, the authorities are still not passing orders in cases wherein prayer for eviction has been made and if so, the reasons for the same.

ii) Whether the letter (Annexure P-9) issued by the Director General, Social Justice, Empowerment, Welfare of SC & BC and Antyodaya (SEWA) Department, Haryana has any legal basis or not.

iii) Whether, irrespective of the position of law, since it is the duty of the authority under the Act to pass an order and not to simply keep an application seeking eviction pending, then as to why the authority concerned has not passed an order on the same?

With regard to this, it is submitted that the Government of India had enacted the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007. The erstwhile Social Justice & Empowerment Department was a nodal department to implement the provisions of the said Act. The erstwhile Social Justice & Empowerment Department. being a nodal department, notified the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Rules, 2009. The State Government, through the erstwhile Social Justice & Empowerment Department, introduced an Action Plan, 2015 vide which the District Magistrates in the State of Haryana were empowered to pass the eviction orders to protect the property of the senior citizens/parents. The State Government vide notification dated 01.01.2023 merged the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes Department with the erstwhile Social J