INDIA: Supreme Court to take up Senior's Public Interest Litigation petition

. NEW DELHi, India / Press Trust of India / August 13, 2009 SC to dispose of PIL on Helpline for senior citizens By Staff Writer The Supreme Court today posted for final disposal a PIL seeking among other things a special grievance redressal cell to address the problems of senior citizens in Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. According to the petition, there was an urgent need to set up "round-the-clock helplines which should act as a one-stop counter" for attending the various problems encountered by senior citizens. Citing instances, the petition filed by Brig (Retd) J S Bawa through counsel Shomona Khanna complained that senior citizens in the country in a number of cases were left to fend for themselves with meagre income or left to starvation since their own children in many cases have disowned them. Similarly, the land or properties belonging to aged persons in several cases were being grabbed by vested interest and the authorities were adopting a callous approach even after complaints. [rc] © PTI 2009