The Delhi High Court on Wednesday upheld the validity of a provision allowing elderly parents or senior citizens to approach a District Magistrate (DM) seeking the eviction of their children or legal heirs from property belonging to them.

 

The High Court made the observations while dismissing a plea challenging an eviction order passed by the Divisional Commissioner of Delhi in favour of the petitioner’s mother-in-law, reported Bar and Bench.

 

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia said Rule 22(3)(1) of the Delhi Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Rules, 2009, provides relief to senior citizens or parents to mitigate their suffering arising from non-maintenance and ill-treatment.

  

The court held that the provision derives its existence from Sections 22 and 32 of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 (Senior Citizens Act), and, therefore, cannot be declared ultra vires.

 

“In view of the aforesaid discussion, the challenge laid by the petitioner on the provisions of Rule 22 (3)(1)(i) and (iv) of the 2009 Rules fails, which is hereby rejected,” the Bench concluded.

 

What was the case?

 

The High Court made the observations while dismissing a plea filed by Punam, who had challenged an eviction order passed by the Divisional Commissioner of Delhi in favour of her mother-in-law.

 

Punam argued that the Senior Citizens Act does not expressly provide for eviction proceedings and that the rules went beyond the state government’s rule-making powers.

 

She also contended that the provisions violated Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution and infringed a woman’s right to reside in a shared household under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005.

 

Punam said she had married the senior citizen’s son in 1996 and that the couple had two children. Amid matrimonial discord, she filed proceedings under the Domestic Violence Act seeking protection of her residence in her mother-in-law’s property.

Her mother-in-law subsequently sought her eviction under the 2009 Rules.

 

The District Magistrate rejected the application in February 2021. However, the Divisional Commissioner allowed the mother’s appeal in July 2022 and directed Punam to vacate the premises. The Delhi High Court upheld the eviction order, noting that Punam was employed as a postgraduate teacher, earned a substantial income and had a separate house.

 

The court added that her claim to reside in the shared household was not absolute and had to be considered alongside her mother-in-law’s right to live peacefully.

 

What does Rule 22 of the Delhi Senior Citizens Rules provide?

 

The Delhi Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Rules, 2009, are the Delhi-specific rules framed under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007.

 

They set out the mechanism for implementing the Act in Delhi, covering maintenance proceedings, tribunals, old-age homes and measures to protect senior citizens’ life and property.

 

Rule 22 deals with the protection of senior citizens’ life and property and assigns responsibilities to the police and district administration. It requires the police to promptly address complaints and problems faced by senior citizens.

 

The original Rule 22 focused on the broader action plan for protecting senior citizens. The specific eviction mechanism was introduced later through a 2016 amendment, which inserted Rule 22(3) to provide a procedure for evicting children or other legal heirs from a senior citizen’s property or residential building. The provision was further amended in 2017.

 

Under the amended Rule 22(3)(1)(i), a senior citizen or parent can approach the Deputy Commissioner/District Magistrate seeking the eviction of a son, daughter or legal heir from the senior citizen’s property on grounds of non-maintenance and ill-treatment.

 

The provision covers property of any kind: movable or immovable, ancestral or self-acquired, tangible or intangible, including rights or interests in such property. The application is forwarded by the Deputy Commissioner/District Magistrate to the concerned Sub-Divisional Magistrate for verification of the property title and the facts of the case.

 

The verification is to be completed within 15 days. Following this, written notice is issued to the persons concerned, asking them to show cause as to why an eviction order should not be passed.