Discord Between Parents And Wife Not A Ground To Deny Monthly Maintenance To Elderly Parents: Bombay High Court

A family discord between a man's parents and his wife is not a sufficient ground for him to stop paying for the maintenance and medical expenses of his own parents, held the Bombay High Court recently while upholding an order of a Senior Citizens' Tribunal directing a man, who worked in Dubai to pay Rs 8,000 as maintenance to his old parents. [2026 LiveLaw (Bom) 324]

Sitting at the Goa bench, single-judge Justice Dr Neela Gokhale noted that the petitioner son - Altaf Shaikh, who works in Dubai used to send money for all the expenses of the family and even bought properties in the name of his parents earlier, however, after his wife filed a Domestic Violence case against the parents, he stopped paying the old couple. 

The judge noted that Shaikh's 70-year-old father was 'bedridden' due to a sudden paralysis attack and that his 62-year-old mother appeared as a party-in-person as she had no money to afford a lawyer. The judge further noted that the Shaikh's sibling too was paying some money for the expenses of the old couple but as the same amount was not sufficient, the old couple filed application under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, seeking monthly maintenance. 

Accordingly, the competent authority directed Shaikh to pay a monthly amount of Rs 8,000 as maintenance to the old parents. However, the son assailed the said order before Justice Gokhale's bench, who clearly expressed her displeasure over the said plea. 

"The facts in the present case expose various issues faced by elderly parents, especially a bedridden father suffering from paralysis on the one hand and a discord between the petitioner's wife and his parents on the other. Due to the family discord, the petitioner stopped sending money to his parents. It appears that the family disputes have assumed such a significant proportion as to reach the docket of a Magistrate hearing cases under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005," Justice Gokhale noted in the order passed on July 6. 

The judge took into account the fact that the petitioner son stopped paying money citing the fact that his parents allegedly abused his wife for some or the other reason and thus she filed the Domestic Violence Case against them. The judge noted that prior to that he continuously kept sending money from Dubai for the family's maintenance.

"Now, the petitioner son, who at one time admitted to buying property in his parents' name out of reverence, has refused to pay a paltry sum of Rs 8,000 towards his father's medical expenses. The family discord between the petitioner's wife and his parents is not a justification enough to refuse payment of maintenance," the judge held. 

With these observations, the bench upheld the competent authority's order to Shaikh to pay Rs 8,000 monthly to his parents. 

Appearance:

Advocate Mujahidin Shaikh appeared for the Petitioner. 

Additional Government Advocates Sulekha Kamat and Prashil Arolkar represented the State authorities.

Case Title: Altaf Shaikh vs State of Goa (Writ Petition 230 of 2026)

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Bom) 324