A courtroom of (and for) grandparents
Those convicted for abandoning senior citizens may face jail term of up to 3 months or fine of Rs.5,000
By Gayatri Jayaraman
Mumbai: An ambulance pull
s up in front of the new administration building of the state labour court in Bandra, Mumbai, on Thursday, 26 July, as it will again on Tuesday. It ferries 96-year-old Shiva Chetanram Krip, the plaintiff, who has a fractured hip and must attend proceedings on the ninth floor, where a landmark case quietly unfolds. The defendant is Krip’s son, Bhagvan Shiva Krip, himself a senior citizen, and grandson, Prashanth Bhagvan Krip, 33.
Krip is the first senior citizen in Maharashtra whose case is being heard by the tribunal set up under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007. He first filed for maintenance of up to Rs. 10,000 under section 5 in Pune, in May 2011. This, his second plea for the rendering of a gift deed allegedly taken by force to render his will invalid and void was filed under section 23 of the Act in April 2012.
The Act, which was notified in 2009, does not fall under the jurisdiction of any civil court, but takes on the powers of the civil court, and cases are tried by the SDO at the level of additional magistrate. Senior citizens abandoned by their children can apply for maintenance of up to Rs. 10,000 under this Act. Those convicted for abandoning senior citizens/parents could face a jail term up to three months or a fine of Rs. 5,000.
According to HelpAge India’s 2012 report on Elder Abuse in India, which spanned 20 cities, 31% of older persons reported facing abuse, 24% of the elderly faced it on a daily basis, 75% of those facing abuse lived with their families, and 69% were the owners of the house in which they were being abused. Fifty-six percent faced abuse by sons, and 23% by daughters-in-law. More than 55% suffered abuse silently to uphold “family honour”, 50% for periods of more than five years. The Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) witnessed a rise in abuse from last year, with 29.82% of the elderly stating that they faced abuse, against 12% the year before; Mumbai followed a close second to Delhi-NCR with 29.46%. Bhopal ranked the highest in elder abuse with 77.12% elders stating that they faced this, followed closely by Guwahati with 60.55%.
Abridged
SOURCE: LiveMint
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