CHANDIGARH, May 7 — The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that a senior citizen cannot invoke the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, to reclaim property from his daughter-in-law after his son’s death, saying the law does not recognize daughters-in-law as liable parties under its provisions.
Justice Harsimran Singh Sethi, delivering the judgment in a case concerning intergenerational property transfer, made it clear that a transfer made to a son during the senior citizen’s lifetime cannot be undone under the Act once the son is deceased and the property has lawfully passed to his widow and children.
“The 2007 Act has been framed with a clear intent that the daughter-in-law is not to be brought into picture for getting the relief,” Justice Sethi stated in the order, setting aside the cancellation of a property deed executed in favour of the deceased son.
The dispute arose after the senior citizen, following his son’s death, sought to annul the property transfer on grounds of neglect. The land had been transferred to the son during his lifetime and later devolved to the daughter-in-law and their children after his passing.
The senior citizen had approached the appellate authority under the 2007 Act, which on November 25, 2021, passed an order canceling the transfer deed.
Challenging the order, the petitioner-daughter-in-law argued that the proceedings themselves were untenable under the Act, as it did not permit action against a daughter-in-law. She maintained that the authorities failed to consider the legal definition of “children” under the Act, which excludes daughters-in-law.
Justice Sethi concurred, observing: “The proceedings were initiated under the 2007 Act by the senior citizen after the death of her son, who before his death had already transferred the property in her favour. The appellate authority exercising jurisdiction under the 2007 Act should have ensured whether the daughter-in-law could be brought under its purview.”
He noted that the authorities “did not appreciate this aspect at all,” and therefore, the order “could not be sustained in the eyes of law.”
The court’s decision clarifies the limits of the 2007 Act and provides legal assurance to widows inheriting property, reinforcing that they cannot be subjected to retrospective claims under the guise of maintenance provisions.
