Kerala High Court Upholds Senior Citizens’ Right to Claim Past Maintenance from Children
In a significant ruling, the Kerala High Court has stated that senior citizens are entitled to claim past maintenance from their children. The court emphasized that parents, out of self-respect, might delay approaching the courts for maintenance claims, hoping their children would recognize and address their needs. The court remarked,
“If the law entitles a senior citizen in old age the claim for maintenance prospectively, it does not mean the law negates the claim for past maintenance. A man with self-respect might have resisted himself in approaching the court at first instance on a belief that his children would respect his needs. His patience and respect for the children cannot be encashed to deny his claim for past maintenance.”
This observation was made during the hearing of an appeal by a Christian senior citizen father seeking arrears of maintenance from his children. The Family Court had initially rejected his claim, stating that the law does not permit a Christian to claim past maintenance.
The High Court, while examining the possibility of claiming maintenance retrospectively, noted the absence of statutory provisions for seeking past maintenance. Under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, maintenance can only be claimed prospectively, i.e., post the maintenance application date. The court also highlighted that even Section 125 of CrPC allows a father or mother, unable to maintain themselves, to claim maintenance from the date of the order or the application date.
However, the court observed that irrespective of religion, courts have recognized senior citizens’ right to seek maintenance even without specific legislation. Citing the Karnataka High Court’s decision in K. Kumar v. Leena (2010), the Kerala High Court pointed out that the absence of a statutory provision under the Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1872, for granting maintenance to the wife and children was addressed by adopting principles of equity, natural justice, and good conscience. The court stated,
“The Karnataka High Court noting the silence in the above statutory provisions had taken the view that the court will have to strive to redress the grievances by adopting the principles of equity natural justice and good conscience.”
The Kerala High Court further emphasized that a positive law isn’t a prerequisite to claim both past and future maintenance. Thus, the lack of specific legislation doesn’t prevent the court from granting senior citizens, regardless of their religion, the right to claim both past and future maintenance.
Based on these findings, the Kerala High Court has remanded the maintenance claim back to the Family Court.
Case Details:
- Title: Chandi Samuval V Saimon Samuval
- Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Ker) 438
- Case Number: Mat. Appeal No. 782 OF 2022
- Counsel for Petitioner: Advocates Alex M Scaria, Beas K Ponnappan, A.J.Riyas, Saritha Thomas, Alen J. Cheruvil, Sahl Abdul Kader, and Sanjith Kumar R.
- Counsel for Respondent: Advocate P Venugopal
