Parents' Financial Independence No Bar To Cancellation Of Gift Deed If Child Fails To Maintain Them: Bombay High Court
Upholding cancellation of a gift deed under Section 23 of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, the Court held that once the statutory conditions are met, a senior citizen's financial status is immaterial.
The Bombay High Court has held that the financial independence of senior citizens does not preclude them from seeking cancellation of a gift deed under Section 23 of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, if the transferee fails to fulfil the obligation of maintaining them.
It also held that the son's subsequent offer to maintain his parents could not revive a transfer already liable to be declared void.
The Bench dismissed a writ petition filed by a son challenging orders of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Tribunal, which had declared void a gift deed executed by his parents in respect of their Mumbai flat and directed him to restore possession of the property.
A Bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra V. Ghuge and Justice Gautam A. Ankhad observed, “The submission that Respondent Nos.1 and 2 are financially independent or possess other assets is misconceived. The applicability of Section 23 does not depend upon the financial status of the senior citizen. Once the statutory conditions of Section 23 are satisfied, the transfer can be declared as void…”.
“The Petitioner's offer to now maintain Respondent Nos.1 and 2 or to accommodate them in the Yashashree flat also does not advance his case. Such belated and subsequent offer cannot revive a transfer which the statute deems to have been vitiated by fraud, coercion or undue influence…These facts clearly establish the Petitioner's failure to fulfill the very obligation which constituted the foundation of the gift…”, the Bench further noted.
Advocate Bhushan Ulhas Deshmukh appeared for the petitioner and Neha S. Bhide, Government Pleader, Pooja Patil, AGP appeared for the respondent.
The petition arose from a challenge to the Tribunal's order cancelling a gift deed executed by the petitioner's parents in his favour under Section 23 of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007.
The parents had transferred the property on the understanding that their son would care for them, but later alleged that the arrangement had broken down, forcing them to leave their home. The Tribunal cancelled the gift deed for one flat and directed the son to restore possession.
Upholding the Tribunal's order, the High Court observed that Section 23 protects senior citizens who transfer property in expectation of care. It held that the gift deed expressly obligated the son to maintain his parents and that the breakdown of the arrangement established his failure to fulfil the very obligation that formed the basis of the gift.
Rejecting the son's contention that he had funded the property and that his parents were financially independent, the Court held that such pleas were irrelevant once the statutory conditions under Section 23 were satisfied.
Therefore, on finding no illegality in the Tribunal's order, the Court dismissed the writ petition.
Cause Title: Ashwin Ramesh Soni v. Ramesh Bachaulal Soni & Ors. Writ Petition Stamp No. 13629 Of 2026
Appearances:
Petitioner: Bhushan Ulhas Deshmukh, Advocate.
Respondent: Rajesh Singh, Rahul Singh, Iftekhar Sayed, Neha S. Bhide, Government Pleader, Pooja Patil, AGP.