The Bombay High Court ruled that elderly parents can take back property gifted to their son if he ill-treats them or fails to look after them in their old age, The Times of India reported on Monday, 16 July.
A division bench of Justices Ranjit More and Anuja Prabhudesai cited the special law for the maintenance of senior citizens while upholding a tribunal’s order which had withdrawn an Andheri resident’s gift deed to his son with 50 percent share in the flat.
The judges said that the gift deed, which was made at the request of the son and his wife, implied that the elderly father as well as his second wife will be treated with care. According to The Times of India, while cancelling the son’s petition, the court said, “Obviously, the son and his wife though ready and willing to look after the father were unwilling to do so in respect of the second wife. In the above circumstances, we do not find any error in the order (cancelling the gift deed), therefore, we are not inclined to entertain this petition.”
After the senior citizen’s first wife passed away in 2014, he gave in to the demands of his son and daughter-in-law and transferred a share of his Andheri flat to them to maintain peace after deciding to remarry. But the son and daughter-in-law started misbehaving with the man’s second wife, the report added.
The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 states that if a senior citizen agrees to transfer his or her share in the property as a gift deed on condition of their basic needs be taken care of, but is not treated well, then a maintenance tribunal can quash the agreement.
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