Ahmedabad: After a 13-year legal battle, an elderly man has secured a court order to evict his son and daughter-in-law from his house in the Vasna area, with a city civil court granting the couple 90 days to vacate the premises.
The man had approached court in 2013, seeking directions against his son and daughter-in-law, who had married in 2002.
The court also rejected the daughter-in-law’s contention that the property constituted a “shared household” under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act and that she was therefore entitled to continue residing there. The couple lived on the ground floor of the house, while the man occupied the first floor. Matrimonial disputes between the couple eventually led them to occupy separate rooms, after which the son filed a divorce petition.
Because of his involvement with another woman, she further alleged that her husband wanted a divorce. Therefore, she does not have a right to reside in such property under the provisions relating to domestic violence.
She told the court that she was living in one of the rooms with her daughter and could not be evicted under the provisions of the DV Act. Arguing that the house was her matrimonial home, she claimed a right to reside there as it was a shared household. After hearing the parties, City Civil Judge V A Dhadhal held that documentary evidence established the elderly man’s exclusive ownership of the property and showed that neither his son nor daughter-in-law had contributed towards its purchase. Citing a Supreme Court ruling, the court stated in its order, “The independently owned property of the parents-in-law cannot be treated as a shared household for the daughter-in-law. The court clarified that the eviction order would not apply to the couple’s daughter, who is now an adult, as the grandfather had not sought any relief against her.