‘Societal Failure and moral bankruptcy when society turns away form silent suffering of its elders’- Allahabad High Court
Case details:
Case Name: Ram Dular Gupta vs State of U.P. and 2 others
Case No.: Writ C No. 15359 of 2025
Bench: Hon’ble Mahesh Chandra Tripathi,J., Hon’ble Prashant Kumar, J.
The Allahabad High Court anguished by the apathy and misconduct displayed by the children and considered it a societal failure of a civilized society.
The factual matrix discloses that the dispute pertains amongst father and his two sons. The sons are settled out of station from Bhadohi i.e Surat and Mumbai respectively.
The petitioner was owner of a land and the superstructure raised thereon. The petitioner was entitled to a compensation amount in tune of Rs. 21,17,758 which was not released to the petitioner due to dispute among the father and sons. The sons have also not maintained their father subjecting him to physical and mental trauma.
The Court emphasised that it is both a sacred moral duty and a statutory obligation for children to protect dignity, well-being and care of their ageing parents.
The Court further stressed that the twilight of life must no be marked by silence, isolation or pain. No civilized society can condone, let alone ignore such betrayal of our elders.
The Court asserts firmly that neglect, cruelty or abandonment of elderly parents is a violation of Article 21 of the Constitution of India-the right to life with dignity. A home that has turned hostile for an ageing parent is no longer a sanctuary; it is a site of injustice. The Courts must not allow this silent suffering to continue under the garb of ‘family privacy’.
The Court held further that the law codifies what should already exist in every heart an instinctive human responsibility to care for those who once protected us. It is in these final years that even the smallest act of reassurance or respect can carry the greatest weight.
The Court while passing order relied on order passed by Hon’ble Supreme Court passed in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 193 of 2016, Ashwani Kumar vs Union of India and others wherein the rights of elderly persons were recognized under Article 21 of the Constitution.
The petitioner also narrated how his own sons subjected him to physical and emotional trauma. He also alleged that his sons even went so far so as to physically bite him and displayed injuries sustained at their hands.
The sons through their counsels tendered unconditional apology for their behavior with their father and the Court upon consideration of the undertakings by his sons and State actors awarded the compensation to the petitioner with petitioner to be at liberty to file a recall application if his sons in future caused any annoyance or interference.