GUWAHATI, India, Aug. 12 -- Gauhati High Court issued the following order on July 14:

1. Heard Mr. B. D. Konwar, learned Senior Counsel assisted by Mrs. J. M. Konwar, learned counsel for the petitioner. Also heard Mr. H. Sharma, learned Additional Senior Government Advocate, Assam, representing the respondent Nos. 1, 2 and 3 and Mr. B. D. Deka, learned counsel for the respondent Nos. 4 and 5.

2. The petitioner herein is a senior citizen aged about 70 years. Earlier, the petitioner served as an Estate Officer under the Secondary Education Board of Assam (SEBA) and retired in the year 2015. It is the case of the petitioner that the petitioner owns a plot of land measuring 3 Kathas situated at Rehabari under Village - Sohar Ulubari Part-I of Mouza- Ulubari in the District of Kamrup (M), Assam. According to the petitioner on the said plot of land, the petitioner constructed a G+2 residential building, wholly and exclusively financed from his own resources and also by availing loans which he had fully repaid with interest.

3. It is his allegation that the respondent Nos. 4 and 5, who are his son and daughter-in-law were living with him in the said house and they subjected the petitioner to physical and verbal assault and has also abused and harassed him. It is his further contention that in the aforesaid backdrop of harassment, he was forced to take refuge initially in a hotel and subsequently, he is living in a rented premise by paying a rent of Rs. 10,000/- per month. It is his further contention that the vehicle of the petitioner bearing Registration No. AS-01-DJ-7026 has also been taken over by the respondent Nos. 4 and 5.

4. In the aforesaid backdrop, the petitioner submitted an application under The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens' Act, 2007 (hereinafter referred to as Act, 2007) before the District Social Welfare-cum- Maintenance Officer i.e., the respondent No. 3, praying for maintenance and eviction of his son and daughter-inlaw from the house as recorded hereinabove. However, the said application regarding maintenance was rejected on the ground that the petitioner, being a retired government employee, has sufficient means to maintain himself. So far, relating to eviction, it was rejected being a property dispute. Being aggrieved, the present writ petition is filed.

5. An affidavit has been filed by the respondent Nos. 4 and 5. In the affidavit, the allegation of harassment and eviction of the petitioner from his own house has been denied by the respondent Nos. 4 and 5, and they have taken a further stand that the petitioner, on his own volition, despite their earnest request, has left his residence. According to them, their father, who is 70 years of age, is influenced by some tantric and has been visiting many fortune tellers, locally and even outside the State of Assam, and the aforesaid tantric has polluted the mind of their father. It is their contention that their father could be suffering from some mental infirmity coupled with paranoia, and therefore, he is having misapprehensions about his son and daughter-in-law, which were unfounded and baseless. According to them, they are continuously insisting that the petitioner return home; however, due to the undue influence of certain unscrupulous tantric and fortune tellers, the same has not been materialized.

6. According to them, though there were mediations, the same also failed inasmuch as on every occasion, when the date of mediation was fixed, the petitioner refused to participate in the mediation proceedings and took a confrontational stance. It is their further case that they are ready to mediate with the writ petitioner for an amicable solution of the matter, and they are always ready to welcome their father back to his place of residence. It is admitted in the affidavit that the house in question belongs to the petitioner, and the respondent Nos. 4 and 5 stay with their family in the residence of the petitioner in the capacity of son and daughter-in- law.

*Rest of the document can be viewed at: (https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/ecourtindiaHC/cases/display_pdf.php?filename=bzPoyUlszYLCUcCpirIpqCdgs%2FB%2FEwTiGx5%2FdFxgAqPqs2Y1gNDIrzUpC1Kztt3S&caseno=WP(C)/4217/2024&cCode=1&cino=GAHC010162542024&state_code=6&appFlag=)

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