INDIA: District Magistrates To Protect Elderly

NEW DELHI (The Times of India), December 20, 2007: The next time an old man bequeaths property to his son, he may be gently told that making the ' virasat ' conditional -- that the beneficiary should look after him for his remaining years -- could ensure him a life of dignity. With the law for old persons passed by Parliament saying that a transfer of property would be considered "fraud or coercion" if it was made on such a quid pro quo and the promise not fulfilled, the Union government is pinning its hopes on district magistrates to turn the tide in favour of the elderly by making popular the concept of "conditional inheritance". Social justice and empowerment minister Meira Kumar said District Magistrates (DMs), being registrars in districts, oversee property transfer and they should advise people on property changing hands. "They would know the law that is coming up better than common people," Kumar told Times Of India. While DMs are the registrars in districts, sub-registrars carry out the actual registration of property. Importantly, the DMs hold centrestage in the operation of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Bill as the tribunals to be set to arbitrate the petitions from elderly to enforce care from children would be set up at sub-division level, which would fall under their jurisdiction. The DMs have also been designated as the "appellate authority" if the elderly want to appeal against a tribunal order. Kumar said, "I will write to chief ministers, asking them to take special care of provisions of the new law which are important to make it a success." The power to "disinherit" beneficiary children is seen as important in the wake of rising instances of the elderly being abandoned once they give family assets to the younger generation. The same trauma afflicts many childless older persons who 'adopt' families in the hope of support and choose them as their heirs. The move to fast-track awareness on "conditional inheritance" appears relevant in the backdrop of a recent Supreme Court order that parents could not take back property once given to children, even if they ill-treated them. Ministry sources said the law would offset the apex court judgment by giving them the security of giving property with a condition. According to the recent SC judgment, law forbids any reversal of property once bequeathed. "Once a gift is complete, it cannot be rescinded. The subsequent conduct of a recipient cannot be a ground for demanding the return of a valid gift for any reason," the court had said. Importantly, an apex court verdict delivered two months ago ruled that parents could disentitle their only son from inheriting their property if he did not take care of them in their old age or during their illness. By Subodh Ghildiyal Copyright © 2007 Times Internet Limited.