Maintenance and welfare of parents and senior citizens act, 2007

Ageing has become a major social challenge because of decline in the joint family system. A large number of elderly persons, particularly widowed women are not being looked after their families. They are forced to spend their twilight years all alone and are exposed to emotional neglect and are not being provided financial support. To combat this social challenge there is a need to give more attention to the care and protection for the older persons. Though there is a provision in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 under which parents can claim maintenance from their children but the procedure is time consuming and expensive. It is desired that simple, inexpensive and speedy provisions may be made to claim maintenance by the suffering parents. To cast an obligation on the persons who inherit the property of their aged relatives to maintain them and to make provisions for setting up oldage homes for providing maintenance to the indigent older persons and to provide better medical facilities to the senior citizens and to make provisions for protection of their life and property the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Bill was introduced in the Parliament.

STATEMENT OF OBJECTS AND REASONS Traditional norms and values of the Indian society laid stress on providing

care for the elderly. However, due to withering of the joint family system, a large number of elderly are not being looked after by their family. Consequently, many older persons, particularly widowed women are now forced to spend their twilight years all alone and are exposed to emotional neglect and to lack of physical and financial support. This clearly reveals that ageing has become a major social challenge and there is a need to give more attention to the care and protection for the older persons. Though the parents can claim maintenance under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, the procedure is both time consuming as well as expensive. Hence, there is a need to have simple, inexpensive and speedy provisions to claim maintenance for parents.

2. The Bill proposes to cast an obligation on the persons who inherit the property of their aged relatives to maintain such aged relatives and also proposes to make provisions for setting-up oldage homes for providing maintenance to the indigent older persons.

The Bill further proposes to provide better medical facilities to the senior citizens and provisions for protection of their life and property. 3. The Bill, therefore, proposes to provide for:

(a) appropriate mechanism to be set-up to provide need-based maintenance to the parents and senior citizens;

(b) providing better medical facilities to senior citizens; The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007

(c) for institutionalisation of a suitable mechanism for protection of life and property of older persons;

(d) setting-up of oldage homes in every district. 4. The Bill seeks to achieve the above objectives.

ACT 56 OF 2007

The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Bill having been passed by both the Houses of Parliament received the assent of the President on 29th December, 2007. It came on the Statute Book as THE MAINTENANCE AND WELFARE OF PARENTS AND SENIOR CITIZENS ACT, 2007 (56 of 2007).