Supreme Court Allows Parents To Evict Children From Property If They Don’t Care For Them

If an adult child does not take care of their aged parents, he or she may be evicted from their property, the Supreme Court has ruled.

In case of a breach of the obligation to maintain senior citizens, the apex court observed that a Tribunal under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, has the power to order the eviction of a child from the property of the senior citizen.

The top court’s remarks came on a plea by an 80-year-old man and his 78-year-old wife challenging a Bombay High Court order that had struck down their eviction directive against their eldest son.

A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta noted that the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, was enacted to address

the plight of senior citizens by ensuring their care and protection. Therefore, its provisions must be construed in a manner that promotes its welfare objective, it said.

The apex court cited earlier precedents to reaffirm that Maintenance Tribunals are empowered to order the eviction of a child or relative when they fail to discharge their obligations towards senior citizens, Live Law reported.

The petitioners’ son had taken control of their two properties in Mumbai and refused to allow them to reside there after they moved to Uttar Pradesh. The Supreme Court held that the son breached his “statutory obligations” by preventing his parents from accessing their property.

In June, the Tribunal found the petitioners’ concerns valid and ordered the son to pay them maintenance of Rs 3,000 per month and vacate the property. The Appellate Authority also upheld the Tribunal’s ruling. However, the High Court held that the Tribunal lacked jurisdiction to order eviction against the son since he also qualified as a senior citizen under the Act.

The Supreme Court found this reasoning “erroneous” and set aside the High Court’s ruling. The apex court said the son was 59 years old at the time of filing of the application, and hence, he could not be treated as a senior citizen.

Dismissing the writ plea filed by the son, the top court granted him two weeks to furnish an undertaking to vacate the premises on or before November 30, 2025.