Maintenance Tribunal Cannot Order Eviction Of Children Under Senior Citizens Act: Calcutta High Court

Holding that the Maintenance Tribunal under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 has no jurisdiction to direct eviction of children from property in proceedings under Sections 4 and 5 of the Act, the Calcutta High Court has ruled that the Tribunal's powers are confined to granting monthly maintenance and cannot be stretched to order vacating of premises.Justice Krishna Rao partly modified orders passed by the Sub-Divisional Officer (acting as the Maintenance Tribunal), setting aside the direction requiring a son to vacate his mother's house, while upholding the maintenance component. The Court also clarified that orders of the Maintenance Tribunal are amenable to challenge under Article 226 of the Constitution since the Tribunal performs quasi-judicial functions.The dispute arose between an elderly mother, Pushpa Sharma, and her two sons over occupation of a three-storied residential house at Paschim Medinipur. The mother approached the Maintenance Tribunal seeking monthly maintenance of ₹30,000 and reimbursement of medical expenses, alleging that after her husband's death, the sons had driven her out of the house and failed to support her.By orders dated September 6 and December 6, 2024, the Sub-Divisional Officer directed the sons to pay monthly maintenance and further ordered them to vacate the premises within three months. Challenging the eviction direction, one of the sons approached the High Court, while the mother sought enforcement of the eviction order.Examining the scheme of the 2007 Act, the Court held that Chapter II deals strictly with maintenance of parents and senior citizens and empowers the Tribunal only to determine and award monthly maintenance.The Court observed that: “Sections 4 and 5 only contemplate grant of maintenance. There is neither any direct nor indirect reference to eviction. The Tribunal cannot pass an order of eviction on such an application.”It noted that the statute prescribes a summary mechanism to ensure speedy and inexpensive maintenance and was not intended to function as a substitute for civil remedies relating to property disputes.Accordingly, the portion of the Tribunal's order directing the son to vacate the building was set aside.Case: Pushpa Sharma Versus The State of West Bengal & Ors. Case No: WPA No. 10504 of 2025Click here to read order

Maintenance Tribunal Cannot Order Eviction Of Children Under Senior Citizens Act: Calcutta High Court

Srinjoy Das

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