Property Rights: According to the latest statistics, 35% of the elderly face harassment from their sons and 21% from their daughters-in-law. In 2007, the Centre implemented the Elderly Welfare Act. In 2025, the Madras High Court gave a key verdict.
Add informalnewz.com as a Preferred Source
Property Rights: Parents and senior citizens are facing many hardships these days. According to the latest statistics, 35% of the elderly face harassment, violence or other abuse from their sons, as well as 21% from their daughters-in-law. This situation is physically and mentally neglectful and detrimental to the well-being of the elderly.
The Indian government enacted the Parents and Senior Citizens Care and Welfare Act in 2007. The Act is primarily designed to identify the needs of the elderly, provide them with adequate care, and protect them from abuse and neglect. The Act provides the elderly with the confidence that their property and children will be looked after safely.
According to the law, parents or elderly people can give their property to their children or siblings through ‘Cash Settlement’. This method is being used more and more due to the low registration fees. In gift deeds, the elderly can also add conditions to ensure their future care. However, in many cases, the gifted children or family members do not take proper care of the elderly. As a result, the elderly have to face various difficulties. Several cases have been filed in the courts to resolve these issues, and judgments have been given on them.
Read More: PAN Card: Has anyone taken a loan using your PAN card? Now check it like this!
In March 2025, the Madras High Court delivered a landmark judgment. In a dispute involving her son Keshavan and four daughters, 87-year-old Nagalakshmi from Nagapattinam district had given her property only to Keshavan. Out of love and trust for Keshavan, she had written a gift deed without any conditions. After Keshavan’s death, her daughter-in-law filed a petition in the court alleging that she had not taken proper care of Keshavan. Hearing this petition, the Madras High Court ruled that even if the gift deed was given without any conditions, the deed can be cancelled for the property given to the children who did not take care of the elderly.
In the case of a written settlement deed given with conditions, only the person who issued the deed can submit a cancellation deed for registration by clearly stating that the recipient has not fulfilled those conditions. This judgment ensures that in cases where the conditions imposed on the elderly for their future care are violated, the issue can be resolved through a cancellation deed.
This judgment is a key milestone in the protection of the rights of the elderly. The court has made it clear that even if there are no conditions in the gift deeds, the property can be cancelled against the children who do not take care of the elderly. It has also held that in cases where a gift deed is given with conditions, if those conditions are not maintained, the property can be registered through a cancellation deed.
