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Section 23 of the Maintenance & Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, reads,
“23. Transfer of property to be void in certain circumstances.—(1) Where any senior citizen who, after the commencement of this Act, has transferred by way of gift or otherwise, his property, subject to the condition that the transferee shall provide the basic amenities and basic physical needs to the transferor and such transferee refuses or fails to provide such amenities and physical needs, the said transfer of property shall be deemed to have been made by fraud or coercion or under undue influence and shall at the option of the transferor be declared void by the Tribunal.
(2) Where any senior citizen has a right to receive maintenance out of an estate and such estate or part thereof is transferred, the right to receive maintenance may be enforced against the transferee if the transferee has notice of the right, or if the transfer is gratuitous; but not against the transferee for consideration and without notice of right.
(3) If, any senior citizen is incapable of enforcing the rights under sub-sections (1) and (2), action may be taken on his behalf by any of the organisation referred to in Explanation to sub-section (1) of section 5.”
A simple reading of sub-section (1) suggests that a person, to be able to invoke Section 23(1), must have been a senior citizen at the time of making such a transfer of property. However, it may also make sense to say that it will be sufficient if the person (who has not attained the age of 60 years, which would make him a “senior citizen” as per the Act) makes a transfer, and subsequently attains the age of 60, and now seeks to invoke the provision, since the transferee, usually the children, have failed to maintain him/her.
One is a strict interpretation of the provision, which keeps out persons on the ground that they were not senior citizens at the time of making the transfer. The other is a beneficial and inclusive interpretation which is more open to those persons who at the time of invoking the provision, are senior citizens requiring protection. The interpretation regarding this issue has been discussed in this video on our Youtube Channel. You can watch it to get a complete view! Do share your thoughts on the same!
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE – What you don’t know about Section 23 of Senior Citizens Act, 2006 – Bombay, Punjab HC vs Kerala HC
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