HC comes to rescue of 85-year-old widow

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 26

In an out of the ordinary development before the Bench of Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Krishna Murari, Advocate-General Atul Nanda stepped in to play the role of a mediator to resolve the alleged woes of a senior citizen battling litigation before the authorities concerned for her own house for several years now. Nanda stepped in at the instance of the Bench.

The court was told that the 85-year-old widow and the owner of a four-room house in Amritsar was forced to approach the District Magistrate under the provisions of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, to claim possession of her house from her son, who had allegedly resorted to ill-treating and beating her.

The District Magistrate had, by order dated July 27, 2017, directed the son to vacate the house in favour of the widow. Rejecting a legal challenge by the son, the order was upheld by Single Bench of Justice Rajan Gupta. The order was further challenged by the son in an appeal, in which a stay order was operating against the woman. The matter eventually came up before the Division Bench of Chief Justice Krishna Murari and Justice Arun Palli. Harassed by the legal entanglements she was embroiled in by her own son and without a counsel to represent her, the feeble, limping octogenarian broke down into loud sobs in the open courtroom.

The court called upon Nanda to calm her down and then undertook a special chamber hearing to resolve the matter. The court passed a conciliatory order accepted by the woman. It said the son would pay her Rs 1,500 per month for the use of a room by the fifth of every month and the matter would be heard again after two months. The court appointed Nanda as the amicus curiae in the matter.