The court affirmed the separation of powers and the exclusive authority of the legislature to enact laws.

JUDGMENT :

Karunesh Singh Pawar, J.

1. Heard Sri Himanshu Raghay, learned counsel for the petitioner, Sri Rakumar Singh, learned counsel for respondent No. 1, and Sri Manish Mishra, learned counsel for respondent No. 2 and 3.

2. Through this writ petition the petitioners are praying following relief:

(i) Issue an appropriate writ, order or direction thereby holding the omission to make any provision for enabling by State Government the restoration of property of senior citizens lost in deceptive transactions, ultra vires to Sub-section (2) of Section 22 of The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007;

(ii) Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus or likewise thereby directing the State Government to restore the amount of money lost in the execution of fraudulent sale-deed dated 15.1.2016 (Annexure 3) after recovering the same from the private opposite parties.

3. Brief facts of the case are that the petitioners are couple and senior citizens. The petitioner No. 2 retired in the year 2015 as driver from Public Works Department and as such he got certain post retiral dues. One Naresh Chand sold a piece of land measuring 0.096 hectare from gata No. 365 situated in Village Mohammadpur Kala vide registered sale-deed dated 15.1.2016. Consequently, his name came to be mutated in the revenue record. Thereafter opposite party No. 2 sold a piece of land measuring 0.243 hectare from gata No. 1262 situated at Village Chunka, Pargana and Tehsil Mohmoodabad, District Lucknow vide registered sale-deed dated 15.1.2016 to petitioner No. 1 and on the basis of the said sale-deed name his name was mutated in the revenue record on gata No. 1262.

4. It is contended that although the petitioners got possession of land gata No. 365, they were not allowed to get possession over gata No. 1262. Later on the petitioners were told that land pertaining to gata No. 365 had already been sold to opposite party No. 9 and the petitioners have not got the land on which they have spent all their money which they got as post retiral dues on the superannuation of the petitioner No. 2.

5. Aggrieved by this, the petitioners got an First Information Report dated 23.4.2017 registered vide case crime No. 143, under Sections 419/420/467/468/471 I.P.C., Police Station Mahmoodabad, District Sitapur. Regarding gata No. 1262, the petitioners filed regular suit No. 16 of 2018 "Smt. Shanti Devi v. Ram Naresh and others" wherein learned Civil Judge (Senior Division) has passed order dated 16.1.2018 for maintaining of status quo till the next date. Thereafter, due to the ill health and old age of the petitioners, they could not do the pairavi in the civil suit and as such the interim order lapsed and the opposite parties took forcible possession on the land.

6. Learned counsel for the petitioners further submits that the petitioners have neither possession/ownership of the land nor the money they spent for the purchase of the same. They have been defrauded and they are forced to live under sub human conditions and the paltry pension available with petitioner No. 2 is highly insufficient to cater medical expenses, fooding clothing and day to day expenses. He further submits that the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 after receiving the assent of the President on 20.3.2007 was published in the gazetted of India on 31.12.2007. Section 22 of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 Act mandates the State Government to prescribe the comprehensive action plan for providing protection of life and property of senior citizens. The Section 22 of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act 2007 Act reads as under:

"22 Authorities who may be specified for implementing the provisions of this Act.

(1) The State Government may, confer such powers and impose such duties on a District Magistrate as may be necessary, to ensure that the provisions of this Act are properly carried out and t