The act is very brief with only 32 sections.
It applies exclusively to the senior citizens who are above the age of 60. Some
of the salient features of the act are:
1) It provides for summary proceedings within
a period of 90 days from the date of filing a petition in a specially
constituted Tribunal for this purpose. The Tribunal is manned by an officer not
below the rank of a sub- divisional officer.
2) The senior citizen can either apply to a
Tribunal where he resides or where his son or daughter or his near relative
resides from whom he or she claims maintenance.
3) An uncared for or a childless senior
citizen, though he or she possess property but does not derive any income from
it, can seek maintenance from his son or daughter or from his relative or
relatives, who will inherit his or her property after his or her death.
4) The senior citizen can either apply in
person or through a person authorized by him or through a voluntary
organization registered under the Societies Registration Act.
5) The Tribunal on receipt of a petition will
suo motu take it on file and refer it for a conciliation by a conciliation
officer within a period of one month.
6) The Tribunal enjoys the power of a first
class magistrate for enforcing and summoning the attendance of persons against
whom the petition has been filed.
7) The Tribunal follows the same procedure of
a civil court to adduce evidence from the petitioner and the respondent
8) The Tribunal can pass an order granting a
maximum sum of Rs 10,000/- as maintenance to the senior citizens.The maximum
amount is subject to the regulation of the concerned state government.
9) The person against whom an order for
maintenance has been passed has to comply with the order within one month,
failing which the Tribunal can imprison him or her up to a period of one month.
10) The maintenance amount shall also carry
an interest varying between 5 % and 18 %.
11) The act provides for the District Welfare
Officer to act as maintenance officer and even to conduct the proceedings for
and on behalf of the senior citizens.
12) The Act provides for the establishment of
old age homes for the senior citizens by the concerned state governments.
13) Preferential treatment should be given to
the senior citizens in the hospitals like separate queues, treatment, offering
medicines and also promotion of research in the geriatric medicine.
14) Civil courts have no jurisdiction to
interfere with the proceedings of the Tribunals like grant of stay, ordering
transfer etc.
15) Senior citizens cannot be represented by
any legal practitioner.
16) State governments are empowered to enact
rules for the effective implementation of the Act.
17) If a person who has been looking after a
senior citizen forsakes him or her, he or she will be punished by the Tribunal.
18) Appeal can be preferred against the order
of a Tribunal and the appeal should be disposed of within one month.
19) A senior citizen can seek maintenance for
the purpose of his or her food, shelter, clothes, medical facilities and
recreation etc.
20) A senior citizen who has transferred his
property either to his son or daughter or near relative, by virtue of a will or
gift, can now get it cancelled by applying to the Tribunal, if he or she is
neglected by the legatee or the donee.
21) The provisions of the act have overriding
effect. If any provision of any other act is inconsistent with the provisions
of this act, it will prevail over others..
Though the acts' genuine concern for the
senior citizen cannot be overlooked, the act has the following demerits also.
1) The Tribunal is not manned by a person
with a judicial qualification or acumen or experience. It is not known how they
will adjudicate into the matter in accordance with the procedure followed by a
civil court.
2) Complete exclusion of the professional
lawyers from the purview of the Tribunal simply defies logic and reasoning.
3) The Act entrusts the entire responsibility
of establishing Tribunals, enacting rules etc to the concerned state.
4) The presiding officer of the Tribunal has
no power of discretion in awarding the maintenance amount and the power is
vested with the state government.
5) Imposing liability on a person who happens
to be a relative of the senior citizen on the ground that he will inherit the
property of the senior citizen is illogical and unreasonable because the senior
citizen may sell his property to any third party before his death and there is
no guarantee that the relative will definitely inherit the property of the
senior citizen.
6) The exclusion of the jurisdiction of civil
courts is not justified, because Tribunals are not manned by legally qualified
or experienced persons.
7)It seems that most of the state governments
are not serious in implementing the provisions of the act and only a few states
like Andhra Pradesh have so far come forward to notify the act in their
gazette.
Therefore, in order to implement the act more
effectively and render justice speedily, the central government should come
forward to remove the above mentioned drawbacks. Otherwise, the real purpose of
enacting the above act to rescue the senior citizens may not be fulfilled.
