A lethal weapon for parents

In India, what hurts old people more than infirmity or penury is not having recourse to justice. On on hand, the elderly have to contend with a government that is not sensitive to their needs and slow justice delivery. On the other, they have to live the trauma of being mistreated by estranged children.

“Providing maintenance to old parents is not only the legal obligation of children but also their moral and social duty,” the Delhi high court told an ailing woman whose well-to-do sons had thrown her out of the house built by her husband. However, sons shouldn’t feel they are solely responsible for taking care of parents. Married daughters who work have equal responsibility.

In our country, a law listing the rights of the elderly is in place.  Parents cannot be evicted if they have been staying in a house for a long time.

Section 125 of the code of criminal procedure says a magistrate may order a son/daughter to maintain his/her parents under the Maintenance of Parents Act. Under the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, a parent may demand maintenance from wards in the way a wife demands alimony. The Domestic Violence Act, too, gives parents the right to seek relief if abused by children.

The government estimates that by 2011, there will be 98 million people above 60. Data suggests that two-third of elderly either live below the poverty line or marginally above it and that 9 of 10 elderly citizens are from the unorganised sector and have no social security.

Yet, it’s an irony that the efficacy of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act hasn’t been tested vigorously because of the indifference shown by private and government agencies towards the elderly.

The law empowers the elderly to sue their children, relatives or anybody inheriting their property, for not taking care of them. It must not be forgotten that abandonment of the elderly is now a cognisable offence.