New Delhi: Upholding the powers of a district magistrate to order eviction of a son, daughter or legal heir from a senior citizen’s property in cases of non-maintenance and ill-treatment, Delhi High Court has dismissed a plea by a woman challenging her eviction under Delhi Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Rules, 2009.
HC rejected the petitioner’s challenge to the validity of the 2009 rules and also the argument that an eviction application could not be filed unless the senior citizen had also sought maintenance. The petitioner earlier moved court under Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, seeking a residence order in respect of the shared household. Her mother-in-law subsequently initiated proceedings under the 2007 Act for her eviction, citing harassment.
The bench said that on account of marital discord between the petitioner and her husband, if the mother-in-law is “otherwise entitled to live peacefully and not haunted by the matrimonial discord. The court pointed out that a senior citizen can approach the DM for eviction where the requirements of non-maintenance and ill-treatment are established. The court observed that the petitioner’s right to reside in the shared household was not absolute and had to be considered alongside the senior citizen’s right to live a normal and peaceful life.