by -roshni b letter ,
Elderly couple moves HC for maintenance from son
A senior citizen couple, with a history of heart ailments and high blood pressure, moved the Bombay High Court, seeking direction to their son and daughter-in-law to look after them and provide financial help for their medical expenses.
The Navi Mumbai couple Bhimsen Khurana (73) and wife Lalita (66) filed an application asking the court to direct their son Rohit to pay them a monthly maintenance of Rs 15,000.
They also said they had given 60 per cent of the money for Rohit’s flat in Air Force Society at Kharghar on the assurance that he would let them stay there peacefully in their final days.
The couple, however, said they had been thrown out by their daughter-in-law Neha and are now living in a rented apartment.
The Khuranas lived in Delhi with their son and daughter-in-law, who got married in 1999 and have two children. In 2003, Rohit told them that a two-bedroom flat was available at the Jal Vayu Defence Enclave in Kharghar and he asked for 60 per cent of the amount.
Tired of Delhi’s extreme weather and security concerns for senior citizens, the old couple agreed and gave Rohit Rs 7.26 lakh, which the petition states was kept for their post-retirement life.
They moved to Navi Mumbai in January 2006, but a month later they were humiliated and thrown out of the flat by Neha. In October 2006, Rohit and Neha had matrimonial problems and Rohit moved into his parents’ rented apartment.
“Rohit is our only son and is legally bound to take care of us as we are getting old and are in the last stage of our life,” the petitioners said.
“The government has formulated the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act so that they can live happy, but in our case our daughter-in-law has thrown us out,” they said.
The petitioners asked the court declare them co-owners of the flat and allow them to dispose it at the current market price of Rs 50 lakh and claimed 60 per cent of the amount, Rs 30 lakh, for their medical and survival expenses. They also sought that Neha should be asked to move out of the house and claim no right on it.
The petition was heard by the Division Bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice S J Katawala on December 15. Both parties agreed to an amicable settlement and the court gave them three months, adjourning the hearing till March 9, 2011.
https://www.indianexpress.com/news/elderly-couple-moves-hc-for-maintenance-from-son/729923/2
