Can Self-Sufficient Senior Citizens Claim Maintenance From Their Children? Here Is What Orissa HC Says

The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, secures parents and senior citizens in India for their care and maintenance by the children or other legal heirs. However, this is not without conditions. In a recent judgement, the Orissa High Court held that such senior citizens are not eligible to receive maintenance from children simply because of being a ‘senior citizen’. The court referred to section 4 and section 9 of the Act about ‘Maintenance of Parents and Senior Citizens’ and ‘Order for maintenance’, respectively.

The court held that simply being a senior citizen does not automatically make a person entitled to receive maintenance from children. The precondition to claim maintenance under the Act includes a person’s inability to maintain himself from his earnings or property owned by him.  

As per media reports, a senior citizen aged 69 filed an application in Raygada district in Orissa last year alleging his son of not maintaining and ousting him (the senior) from the house. He claimed a monthly maintenance of Rs 5,000 from his son. The Court of Sub-Collector, S.D.M., Rayagada-cum-Maintenance Tribunal, heard both sides and directed the son to hand over the keys of the building gate to his father. The Tribunal also directed the son to pay his father Rs 5,000 monthly maintenance.

The son then approached the Collector-Cum-Appellate Authority against the order. However, the Appellate Authority rejected his petition and held the Tribunal’s directive.

Then, the son filed an appeal in the Orissa High Court against the order. 

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The Arguments:

The father’s counsel argued that the father has no source of income and has been ousted from the house.

Against this, the son’s counsel argued that whether the father can maintain himself or not from his own earnings or the property owned by him, was not confirmed either by the Tribunal or the Appellate Authority. The counsel referred to Section 4 of the 2007 Act, which tells about the maintenance of parents and senior citizens.

Section 4: The rule says, “A senior citizen including parent who is unable to maintain himself from his own earning or property owned by him, shall be entitled to make an application”.

The other argument pertained to Section 9 of the Act, which tells about an order for maintenance when children or relatives neglect or refuse to maintain a senior citizen.

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Section 9: The rule says, “If children or relatives, as the case may be, neglect or refuse to maintain a senior citizen being unable to maintain himself, the Tribunal may, on being satisfied with such neglect or refusal, order such children or relatives to make a monthly allowance at such monthly rate for the maintenance of such senior citizen, as the Tribunal may deem fit and to pay the same to such senior citizen as the Tribunal may, from time to time, direct”.

The next argument given was about the calculation of the maintenance amount, which did not follow Rule 14 of the Orissa Maintenance of Parents and Senior Citizens Rules, 2009.

Rule 14 of the Orissa Maintenance of Parents and Senior Citizens Rules, 2009: It says, “The maximum maintenance allowance which a Tribunal may order the opposite party to pay shall, subject to a maximum of rupees ten thousand per month/be fixed in such a manner that it does not exceed the monthly income from all sources of the opposite party, divided by the number of persons in his family, counting the applicant or applicants also among the opposite party's family members”.

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The Judgement:

Having considered the arguments, the court held that the Tribunal and the Appellate Authority failed to establish whether the father (senior citizen) is able to maintain himself or not.  Also, they did not follow the prescribed methodology to calculate the maximum maintenance amount to be paid by the son.

The court ordered the matter to be heard afresh by the Tribunal, ensuring adherence to both the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act of 2007 and the Orissa Maintenance of Parents and Senior Citizens Rules of 2009.