Chennai, March 19: Are you not taking care of your elderly parents or guardians? If yes, mind it; you have to refund the gift deed or it is liable to be cancelled.
The Madras High Court came with the landmark ruling, while hearing a property & parentage related plea.
As the verdict states that senior citizens can cancel the gift or settlement deeds executed in favour of their children or close relatives if they failed to take care of them, even if it was not explicitly mentioned in the conditions imposed in the deeds.
A division bench comprising Justices S M Subramaniam and K Rajasekar dismissed an appeal filed by S Mala, daughter-in-law of deceased S Nagalakshmi.
As per the primafacie of the case,Nagalakshmi had executed a settlement deed in favour of her son Kesavan with a fond hope that he and her daughter-in-law will take care of her during her life-span. However, they failed to take care of her. Her daughter-in-law also neglected her after her son died.
Following this, she moved the RDO to cancel the deed.
Acting on it, the RDO authorities cancelled it citing clauses of law.
Challenging the order, Mala filed a petition and it was dismissed. Hence, she filed an appeal in this connection.
The HC bench in its ruling said section 23(1) of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 was designed to protect senior citizens.
The court futher said the facts established in the present case before the RDO under the Senior Citizens Act reveal that the 87 years old woman was totally neglected by her daughter-in-law.
Thus the the bench empowerd the competent authority to annul the Settlement or Gift Deed in such circumstances.
Worth mentioning, the senior citizen has three daughters and a son. However, she executed the settlement deed in favour of her only son, denying any property to the daughters. In fact, after acknowledging the gift deed, the recipients forgot humanity to keep their natural duty, legal promise and even humanity.
