Legal Research development: An International Refereed e-Journal ISSN: 2456-3870

Vol. 4, Issue-IV
Web: www.lrdjournal.com; Email: journal1257@gmail.com June 2020

Problems and Rights of Senior Citizens in India


Sanevata Devi,

Vikas Kumar Jain
Abstract-
Aging is an inevitable part of life and brings its own set of problems and challenges which may
not be unique to the senior citizens but affect their life the most. In the Indian society, the family
members used to be responsible for taking care of the senior citizens of the family and to help them get
over the wide range of problems that they may face, ranging from psychological to physical ailments.
But today’s changing family structure and the prevalence of nuclear families have exposed the elderly
members of the family to physical, psychological and financial insecurity. Subsequently many laws have
also been enacted and rights have been provided in order to protect the senior citizens from any
possible harm that may be inflicted on them by their family members or otherwise. This study paper
provides insights into the problems faced by senior citizens and their rights.
Keywords- Aging, Senior citizens, Problems and Challenges, Rights of senior citizens.

Introduction-
Senior citizens are arguably the soul of a society, they have unparalleled experience and can be of
great importance for the younger generations. This is particularly true for the Indian society. but today
we are losing touch with our elders, widespread prevalence of nuclear families new economic mindset
which , demographically looking , has affected the senior citizens the most and has left them worse off
in many ways rather than the other way around, and various other reasons have put a dent in our age old
social/family structure . According to the law a senior citizen means any person being the citizen of
India, who has attained the age of sixty years or above. Over the years, with advancement in science,
there has been a substantial increase in life expectancy. According to the population census 2011 there
are nearly 104 million elderly persons in India; 53 million females and 51 million males. The share and
size of the senior citizens is also increasing overtime. From 5.6% in 1961 the proportion has increased to
8.6% in 2011 and is expected to increase to 20% by 2050. 71% of this elderly population resides in rural
areas and 29% in urban areas. A large part of this elderly population suffer from problems like
inadequate income after retirement, loss of spouse, poor health, social isolation, poor family


Assistant professor, Govt. Law College Kota, Rajasthan (India).

Assistant professor, Govt. Law College Kota, Rajasthan (India).
Vol.4, Issue-IV [40] June 2020
Legal Research development: An International Refereed e-Journal ISSN: 2456-3870

relationships etc. These problems have led to the emergence particular rights of the senior citizens like
the maintenance and welfare of parents and senior citizens act 2007.
II. Major problems-
1. Health problems- Analysis of morbidity patterns by age clearly indicates that the elderly
experience a greater burden of ailments across genders and regions. The most common health
problems among senior citizens in India are-: Poor Vision- 40 million, Heart issues/Stroke- 1.6
million cases annually, one in three suffer from arthritis, one in five suffer from diabetes, the
same number goes for auditory problems and cancer happens to be 10 times more common
among the elderly as compared to the younger generations. A poor healthcare system both in
terms of quality and efficiency and which happens to be very cumbersome for the elderly only
adds to their ever increasing health issues. A health system which gives preference to senior
citizens and government schemes which provide free of cost treatment at least to those who
cannot afford it can result in dramatic improvement in the overall health of our senior citizens as
is evident by steps taken in countries like Norway and Sweden. While these health problems can
only be cured by a medical professional, others like depression and hypertension which affects
one in three of the senior citizens and dementia which affects around four million of the elderly
members of our society, are becoming rampant among the elderly are caused due to neglect from
the family members and broken social contacts and can be prevented if we as a society becomes
vigilant and responsible enough. The physical infrastructure required to cater to the needs of the
elderly is not good enough either. Very little or no awareness exists about specific geriatric
diseases and the healthcare system as well as the society is very ill- prepared to deal with the
increasing mental health diseases.
2. Economic problems- In India majority of the aged people experience financial problems as they
are not in the position to earn their livelihood, the social security system, too, has its share of
issues ranging from widespread corruption to lack of sustainability and does not provide a safety
net strong and foolproof enough as to cater to even the basic economic needs and wants of the
senior citizens of the country. About 65 per cent of the aged people depend on others for their
day to day maintenance. The situation is far worse for elderly females; about 80 per cent of
elderly females are dependent on others- either partially or fully. Even when the elderly possess
finances and wealth, they are often exploited by their family members through various illicit
ways and at times even by brazenly violating the laws and even the basic human rights. There
have been cases of family members and relatives who keep a watch on the finances that they
possess. In a direct and as well as indirect manner they make attempt to take advantage of them.

Vol.4, Issue-IV [41] June 2020

Legal Research development: An International Refereed e-Journal ISSN: 2456-3870

This is a phenomenon which is not exclusive to either the rural or urban areas and can be
observed, unfortunately so, invariably throughout the society. The financial abuse committed
against the elderly by their relatives and family members ranges from-: taking and misusing
money or property without knowledge or permission, forging or forcing the signature,
misappropriating funds from a pension, getting an older person to sign will or contract through
deception or coercion, providing misleading information for personal economic gain and using
power of attorney for purposes beyond those for which it was originally executed. The biggest
with elder financial abuse is that it is hard to determine an act as financial abuse as it is, at large,
committed by family members, another issue is that most of the senior citizens who are the
victim of financial abuse prefer not to officially report it to the concerned authority. Keeping
elder financial abuse of the elderly in view, the courts from time to time have come to the rescue
of senior citizens and have given a few important decisions like-: in Smt. Darshna v. Government
Of NCT Delhi, the court held that a senior citizen is entitled to evict his son, daughter or legal
heir from his property irrespective of whether it is an ancestral or self-acquired property, which
have proved to milestones in assuring the safety of the elderly against financial abuse.
3. Social problems- Senior citizens face neglect and abuse on a wide scale from strangers and
family members alike. Mistreatment and abuse of the elderly is a major social problem
prevailing in our society. Elder abuse occurs when a caretaker intentionally deprives an older
person of care or harms the person in his or her charge. The elderly may be subject to many
different types of abuse (i) physical abuse such as hitting (ii) psychological abuse or emotional
abuse such as verbal harassment or humiliation (iii) neglect or failure to provide adequate care
(iv) financial abuse or exploitation. The changing family structure, lack of technological know-
how and the ever increasing generation gap are also pushing the elderly towards the periphery of
the social structure. The social and family hierarchy in India which used to have the senior
citizens at its head is not the same anymore and the high position of seniors in the social structure
which they usually acquired due to their experience and wisdom has been usurped by the highest
earning members of the society instead of the most experienced due to the world taking the form
of a predominantly economic society.

III. RIGHTS –
A. Constitutional – constitution of India envisages protecting the rights of citizens of India,
which includes the senior citizens as well. Under part iv (Directive Principles of State Policy)
provisions are:

Vol.4, Issue-IV [42] June 2020

Legal Research development: An International Refereed e-Journal ISSN: 2456-3870

1. Article 41: Which directs the state to make effective provisions for securing the right to
work and public assistance in certain cases which includes old age people.
2. Article 46: Which directs the state to protect the interest of weaker sections.
3. Article 47: Provides that the state shall regard the raising of the level of nutrition and the
standard of living of its people and the improvement of public health as among its primary
duties.
B. Personal laws -

1. Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956 – Under the Section- 20 of Hindu Adoption and
Maintenance Act, parents are entitled to claim maintenance from their son as well as daughter if
they are unable to maintain themselves. This right extends to both natural and adoptive parents.
2. Muslim Personal Law- under the Muslim Personal Law, both son and daughter are bound to
maintain their parents who are poor, if they have means to do so.
3. Cr.P.C.- Parents irrespective of the community they belong to can claim maintenance from their
children (Son and daughter, including married daughter) under section 125 of Cr.P.C.

C. Maintenance And Welfare of Parents And Senior Citizen Act, 2007-

Up until 2007, there was no separate legislation exclusively addressing the issues of the elderly
population. It was only with the passing of this act that a specific legislation for the protection of senior
citizens came into force in India. The act aims at providing maintenance to senior citizens in order to
prevent their destitution. It also seeks to protect the life and property of senior citizens. Some of the
important provisions of the act are:
1. A childless senior citizen can claim maintenance from any relative who possess his property or
who would inherit it.
2. The state governments are directed to constitute a tribunal which would hear the cases
regarding maintenance.
3. There is the provision of imprisonment if a person defaults in the payment of maintenance as
per the order of the tribunal.
4. The act provides for establishment of at least one old age home in each district with the
capacity to shelter at least 150 senior citizens.
5. A senior citizen can also cancel the transfer of his property by will or gift by applying to the
tribunal.
6. The act prescribes punishment for the abandonment of parents or senior citizens by a person
who is liable to take care of them.

Vol.4, Issue-IV [43] June 2020

Legal Research development: An International Refereed e-Journal ISSN: 2456-3870

D. Others:

1. As per the rights guaranteed under the national policy for older persons, 1999, all Indian citizens
aged above 60 are entitled to a 30% concession in ticket prices while travelling with the Indian
railways. The concession is 50% for women aged above 60 along with the provisions for
separate counters and other services including berth requests.
2. Air India is also bound to provide a concession of 45% to senior citizens at the time of booking
for economy class, as per the national policy for older persons, 1999.
3. Section 88-b, 88-d, and 88-ddb of the income tax act of India allow senior citizens to claim a
discount in tax.
4. The elderly are also entitled to get higher interest rate on tax saving plans apart from having a
wide variety of LIC policies and post office saving schemes to choose from.
5. Senior citizens suffering from critical illness can avail a tax deduction of up to Rs. 60,000 under
Section 80DDB. The limit is increased to Rs. 80,000 for senior citizens over the age of 80 years.
IV. Cases and Schemes:

1. In the case of Dr. (Mrs.) Vijaya Manohar Arbat v/s Kashi Rao Rajaram Sawai and Anr1, the
Supreme Court rightly observed that a married daughter who is self-sufficient has to provide
maintenance to the father or mother who do not have any other son.
2. The High Court of Jharkhand in Jharkhand Senior Citizen Advocates Service Sansthan and
Another v/s State of Jharkhand2 directed the state old age homes in each district of the state
with the immediate effect along with directing the state government to arrange different queues
in hospitals and other steps for easement for elderly people while taking medical treatment.
3. In Sunny Paul And Anr v/s State NCT of Delhi And Ors3, the Delhi High Court ruled that
children who abuse their parents while staying with them in their house can be evicted from the
property.
Conclusion-:
As we have seen from the preceding discussion, the senior citizens in India experience a wide
range of problems and challenges ranging from health to economic to social problems, a lot of which
happen to be unique to the elder members of our society compared to the other age groups. While there
are a lot of rights which the senior citizens have at their disposal, these could be increased in number
and in stringency as well, as is the need of the hour. It is widely and rightly said that children are the

1
1987 AIR 1100, 1987 SCR (2) 331.
2
W.P (PIL) No. 6819 of 2013: https://indiankanoon.org/doc/149099537/
3
LPA 205/2017, CM No. 11669/2017: https://indiankanoon.org/doc/193708272/
Vol.4, Issue-IV [44] June 2020
Legal Research development: An International Refereed e-Journal ISSN: 2456-3870

future of the nation but what should also be kept in mind is that the senior citizens are the past which is
far too important to be ignored or neglected and envelopes in themselves invaluable experience.
***************************

Vol.4, Issue-IV [45] June 2020