Delhi High Court upholds the rule letting senior citizens seek eviction of children from their property

1 October 2026

A Delhi High Court bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia has upheld the provision that allows parents and senior citizens to ask a District Magistrate to evict children or other legal heirs from their property.
The ruling was delivered on 1 October 2026 in Punam v. Divisional Commissioner, GNCT of Delhi & Ors.
The provision is part of the framework under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act and the Delhi Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Rules, 2009.
The court said the law provides relief to a senior citizen or parent to mitigate their suffering on account of non-maintenance and ill-treatment.
In the same judgment the court held that eviction proceedings under Rule 22(3)(1) of the 2009 Rules are independent of maintenance proceedings, so a senior citizen may pursue such an eviction without also claiming maintenance.