An Assessment of the Legal Provisions for the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 and the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens (Amendment) Bill, 2019 in India

Abstract

Longevity is a fundamental dream of all living things. In traditional Indian culture, elders have been accorded a high status and a symbol of reverence. Each child has a virtuous duty to hold his parents as true images of Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesh, which God has put on them. However, the winds of change are blowing all around us, and new situations are arising. The elderly have faced economic, social, and political challenges as a result of the nuclear family structure, modernization, industrialization, population growth, globalisation, rising unemployment, and poverty, among other factors. Physical, physiological, and emotional violence, as well as a lack of financial support, add insult to injury. Is it for this that a parent has dedicated his whole life? This shift in conduct necessitates the provision of defence and social welfare. Parents were increasingly oppressed, as they were compared to Godly creatures and addressed as "Matru-deo Bhava," "Pitrudeo Bhava," and so on, which was not the customary common practise. The author was moved to tears by the current situation, so he conducted this research study on the legislation for The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, in accordance with the provisions of Article 41 read with Entry 23 of the Concurrent List (Schedule VIII) of the Constitution of India. To bring to light which protective legislations, as well as Penal Provisions, were designed to provide social protection to elderly parents? And what amendments to current laws would be needed to improve Indian cultural roots? And how effective has the judiciary been in promoting and preserving the right of this vulnerable group of people, namely older parents and senior citizens, to live in dignity?