In a packed courtroom on Friday, the Delhi High Court set aside a 2023 appellate order and reinstated the eviction of a daughter and her family from the home of an elderly man in New Ranjeet Nagar. The bench of Justice Sachin Datta emphatically held that senior citizens do not need to establish harassment or non-maintenance to evict their children from property in which they have a “right or interest”. The ruling again puts the spotlight on the vulnerability of ageing parents in congested urban households.
Background
The case began in 2021 when 74-year-old Piare Khan approached the District Magistrate (West) seeking eviction of his daughter, son-in-law, and their children from the second floor of his DDA flat. He said he allowed them to live there out of affection, but the situation quickly deteriorated. A rent agreement followed in 2014, but disputes escalated, prompting complaints to the police and local authorities.
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The DM ordered eviction in March 2022, observing that the senior citizen was being ill-treated and needed peaceful possession of his own home. This order was later reversed by the Divisional Commissioner, who held that the dispute was “civil in nature” and lacked proof of harassment.
Court’s Observations
Justice Datta disagreed with the appellate authority on almost every key point. The judge made it clear that the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 is a beneficial law, meant to intervene swiftly when elderly parents cannot live peacefully in their own homes.
“The bench observed, ‘The legislation must be interpreted in a manner that advances its purpose, not restricts it. A senior citizen need not first suffer harassment as a pre-condition for seeking eviction.’”
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The Court noted several red flags:
- The petitioner had published a 2021 notice disowning his daughter.
- A 2023 FIR was filed by another daughter complaining of threats and violence.
- Repeated allegations of harassment were placed on record.
Interestingly, the judge also remarked that the elderly often delay taking legal action, hoping that family ties will improve. “That by itself cannot be a ground to deny protection,” the order noted.
On the family’s argument that the second and third floors were “illegally constructed” by them and thus outside the father’s rights, the court took a blunt view: this was not a title court, and the family’s stay traced entirely to the petitioner’s ownership and permission. Nothing more.
“The children cannot claim independent title merely because they stayed there or contributed to construction,” the bench stated.
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Decision
The High Court quashed the August 2023 appellate order and restored the original eviction direction of March 2022. The judgment ends firmly, holding that the appellate authority had misapplied the law and ignored the Act’s protective intent.
With the ruling, the daughter, her husband, and their adult children must vacate the second floor and hand over peaceful possession to Piare Khan. The Court made it clear that nothing in its order would stop civic authorities from acting independently on issues of unauthorized construction-an entirely separate matter.
The file now returns to the District Magistrate for compliance.
Case Title: Piare Khan vs. Government of NCT of Delhi & Others
Case No.: W.P.(C) 14078/2023
Case Type: Writ Petition under Article 226 (Senior Citizens Act – Eviction Dispute)
Decision Date: 21 November 2025
