Destitute elders have to take legal recourse to get maintenance
More than 25.02 lakh cases pertaining to elders are pending in Indian courts
India [Digpu News]: Destitute elders, who spent their whole life bringing up their children, now can take legal recourse to get maintenance from their offsprings. According to National Judicial Data Grid, more than 25.02 lakh cases pertaining to elders are pending in courts. Of these 18.73 lakh are civil cases while 6.2 lakhs are criminal cases.
Sadly more than 3 lakh cases are those pertaining to maintenance or the right to stay in their houses. Lakhs of cases pertaining to physical abuse by children on their parents are also pending in the court. Renowned lawyer N.K. Singh Bhadoriya has taken up more than 200 such cases of physical abuse by children against their parents in the last 10 years.
Bhadoriya said that often parents are reluctant to bring such incidents for the fear of rebuke or social reasons. He added that only in extreme cases, parents take legal recourse as a last resort.
Senior citizens act 2007 gives two special rights to the elderly. First, if their children do not provide them with proper maintenance, the elders can go to court and seek legal recourse. Secondly, children cannot force their parents to leave their homes. On the other hand, the elderly have got the right to evict their children from their homes if they misbehave or cause physical abuse to their parents. The elderly person can file a petition to the SDM who will then direct the police to take necessary action.
The law of the land says that no one can harass a person, minor, adult or a senior citizen. It is indeed very ironical that India, with its 5000-year culture, has to enact laws to protect its elders. Nothing can be more excruciating to parents than to face abuse and physical torture from their children.
Abused senior citizens make every attempt to hide the torture meted out to them. Keep an eye on elders who live in institutions, alone with a caretaker, or with a family. If you come across physical abuse or harassment of any senior citizen, report it immediately.
