Bombay High Court order: In the Senior Citizen Act, ‘daughter-in-law’ is not in the category of ‘children’, cannot direct maintenance

The Bombay High Court, in a significant judgment, held that “children” in section 2(a) of the Senior Citizens Act include son, daughter, grandson and granddaughter, but do not mention daughter-in-law. Therefore, the daughter-in-law cannot be directed to pay maintenance for the mother-in-law. That too, when the daughter-in-law does not have a means of income or no proof of her income is filed in the court.

A bench of Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice Madhav Jamdar told the responsibility of the maintenance of the parents to the son and set aside the order of the Senior Citizens Tribunal. The tribunal had asked the son and daughter-in-law to pay an alimony of Rs 25,000 to the elderly-widow. The court upheld the tribunal’s direction to the son and daughter-in-law to vacate the family’s luxurious bungalow in Juhu.

Along with this, the appeal to evict the son from this property was also accepted. The senior citizen couple, aged 79 and 77, had approached the tribunal in the case. The tribunal had ordered the son and daughter-in-law to vacate the ancestral bungalow and jointly pay Rs 25,000 per month.

Opposing this order of 2019, the daughter-in-law had appealed in the High Court expressing her inability to pay alimony on the basis of her no income. During the running of the court case, after the death of the elderly, his widow had reached the court several times on a wheel chair.

The court further said- ‘It is the responsibility of the son and daughter-in-law to pay attention to the daily needs of the elderly woman. Not giving a life of peace to aged parents is mental and physical harassment.