“Mummy is not well. She has to go to hospital for treatment. If doctor advises her to be admitted, only she can be admitted over there. What will I do? I know only one senior citizen home... I can ask the coordinator Mr. Maaran to take me there. I do not know anyone else.
“You inform me IMMEDIATELY on what should I do. Ramesh [younger son] did not even attend my phone calls. There is no one to help here — Thanks, Daddy,” wrote an elderly and helpless Chennai-based retired Indian Air Force officer to his well-settled elder son in Australia.
The e-mail was penned after the aged man underwent four hip surgeries and bone grafting following a fall. It led to his being bedridden for over six months. His wife took care of him during recuperation; but soon thereafter, she fell ill and he found himself in dire straits.
The words of the father moved Justice P.T. Asha of the Madras High Court so much that she described as “heartless” the treatment meted out by the two sons to their parents who had to sell their jewellery and shell out every penny of their savings and pension to pay for the medical expenses.
Allowing an appeal from the parents against a lower court order in favour of their elder son in a property dispute, the judge held that the appellants were entitled to cancellation of the settlement deed executed in favour of him due to his failure to take good care of them.
The elder son had contended that the settlement deed could not be cancelled unilaterally because he had paid ₹3 lakh to his parents at the time of execution of the deed and also allowed them to collect the rent from the immovable property until their death.
On the other hand, the parents accused the elder son of having got the settlement deed executed only in his name, though they wanted to give an equal share to both sons on condition that they take care of them well and provide them with food, shelter, nutrition and healthcare.
The parents also pointed out that they had spent several lakhs of rupees for the marriage of their sons but neither of them extended a helping hand when the aged couple required money for medical expenses. Therefore, they chose to cancel the settlement deed.
Finding force in their argument, Justice Asha held that the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, a special law enacted after India signed the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, would override all other general laws in the country.
Since Section 23 of the Act empowers the parents to cancel the transfer of properties to their children if they do not take care of them properly, the judge ruled that the cancellation of the settlement deed in the present case was in order and the lower court need not have interfered with it.
Citing The Thirukkural couplet ‘ Magan Thanthaikku aatrum udhavi...’, which meant that a son should conduct himself so well that people around should consider the father lucky for having begotten such a child, the judge wrote, “The above words echo the ethos of our society. The case on hand demonstrates how these values are fast losing their significance.”
( The name of the younger son has been changed.)
