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SC rues tragedy of elderly, restrains son from parting with ailing mother’s property
On April 18, the Supreme Court ordered the Medanta Hospital at Patna to constitute a medical board for examining the octogenarian. The report submitted to the Court on April 28 showed that Vaidehi Singh suffered from advanced dementia and was found to have “no comprehension either on verbal or on physical cues”.
New Delhi: You don’t need a big house but a big heart to look after your mother, said the Supreme Court in a matter arising from a family squabble where the daughters of an elderly, ailing woman had approached the Court to get access to their mother after they had accused their brother of denying her proper treatment and transferring all her property to his name.
Realising that the mother was suffering from advanced dementia, the Court restrained any further transaction with regard to her movable or immovable property and directed the son to respond by Tuesday on allowing the daughters to look after the health and medical needs of the mother.
A bench of Justices Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and Surya Kant, which heard the matter on Friday, said, “Let the daughters take charge of the mother. We will give you (son) access too.” The son, represented by advocate Soayib Qureshi told the Court that the daughters are living with their families and will not have enough space to keep his mother.
The bench replied, “The question is not how big an area you have but how big a heart you have to look after your mother.”
The daughters – Pushpa Tiwary and Gayatri Kumar had filed a habeas corpus petition in March this year claiming that their mother, who was admitted in February at the Capital’s Ganga Ram hospital, was moved to an undisclosed location by their brother who was not allowing them access to their mother, 89-year old Vaidehi Singh. After a notice was issued by the Court, the mother was traced to the son’s house in Muzaffarpur in Bihar. The Court had since allowed the daughters to have full access to their mother.
On April 18, the Court ordered the Medanta Hospital at Patna to constitute a medical board for examining the octogenarian. The report submitted to the Court on April 28 showed that Vaidehi Singh suffered from advanced dementia and was found to have “no comprehension either on verbal or on physical cues”.
The Court noted with serious concern that despite such “serious physical and mental condition of the mother”, the son proceeded to deal in her properties by seeking her presence as a confirming party to the execution of sale deeds. The bench said, “This is the tragedy of senior citizens in our country. She has serious dementia you are selling all her properties. You (son) took her to the Collector’s office to get her thumb impression done. We will stall all further dealings with regard to her properties.”
The daughters, represented by senior advocate Priya Hingorani along with advocates Manish Kumar Saran and Satya Prakash Sharan said, “The petitioners (daughters) have looked after the mother till 2019 until the lockdown intervened in March 2020. They are ready and willing to look after her and to provide her either hospital or home care as may be advised by the doctors.”
Hingorani told the Court that the only reason for the petitioners’ brother to forcefully remove her from the Delhi hospital was to deal with her property as she has immovable assets worth crores of rupees. “The mother has property and jewellery worth crores of rupees in her name and under her control….The respondent (brother) and his family members have also forcefully and deceptively got certain documents executed in their favour and to their advantage from the mother of the petitioners who is an Alzheimer’s patient and is incapable of executing her acts within her senses and understanding,” the daughters stated in their petition.
The Court held, “Pending further orders, there shall be no further transactions in respect of any property, movable or immovable, of Vaidehi Singh.” The Court asked the son’s lawyer to take instructions on the proposal made by daughters to look after the mother by Tuesday.
Pained to see the plight of the mother, the bench said, “She has advanced dementia. Her upper and lower limbs have become stiff. All she needs at this stage is some affection.” In the petition, the daughters had alleged that while the mother was admitted at Ganga Ram hospital, they tried to visit and enquire about her health. They were beaten up by the respondent (petitioners’ brother) and a compliant in this regard was registered at Rajendra Nagar police station in February.
Fearing that something would happen to their mother, they moved a habeas corpus petition (invoking Court’s power to require a person’s presence) in the Supreme Court on which the Court issued notice on March 14 to the son, Bihar government, Delhi government, Delhi Police and Ganga Ram hospital besides other private persons.
