Snehal Upadhyay –
Published on August 27, 2021, at 14:05 IST
The Karnataka High Court observed that the right to appeal granted under Section 16 (1) of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2002 is provided for both sides and is not just limited to senior citizens or parents only.
The Single Bench of Justice H.T Narendra Prasad stated that “By plain reading of section 16 of the Act, it provides right of appeal only to senior citizens or a parent against the order passed by the Tribunal. If a combined reading of the provisions of Section 15 and 16, under Section 15 nowhere mentions appeal against the order of the Tribunal be confined to a senior citizen or a parent.”
The Court was dealing with an Appeal which was filed by M. Sunitha (Vidyasri) who is the daughter-in-law of the Respondent. She had set upon an order given by the Assistant Commissioner to set aside the gift deed which was executed in her favour concerning Section 7(2) of the Act.
Advocate Shivaraj S. Ballolli and Government pleader V S Kalsurmath representing the respondents had opposed the petition contending that the petitioner can avail more effective remedy under Section 16 of the said Act.
The Court observed the specific provisions of the Senior Citizens Act. The Court highlighted Section 15(Constitution of Appellate Tribunal) of the Act and said that it is nowhere mentioned that an appeal can go against the order of the Tribunal be confined to a senior citizen or a parent.
Likewise, Section 16 which states about appeals and this is not excluded specifically.
The Court stated “The only interpretation can be the right of appeal under Section 16 (1) of the said Act is conferred on both sides. It is a case of an accidental omission and not of conscious exclusion. Therefore, the impugned order passed under Section 7 of the Act is an appeal under Section 16 of the Act.”
Hence, the Court quashed the petition and held that “Since the petitioner has an alternative remedy of appeal under Section 16 of the Act, the above writ petition is disposed of reserving liberty to the petitioner to file an appeal before the appellate authority under Section 16 of the Act.”
Also Read: Maintenance and Welfare of Senior Citizens in India