Cuttack: The Orissa high court has refused to interfere with an order allowing an 86-year-old man to reside in the ground floor of his ancestral house in Bhubaneswar, reiterating that laws protecting senior citizens must be interpreted to advance their welfare.Justice Ananda Charan Behera recently upheld the Aug 7, 2025 order of the sub-collector, Bhubaneswar, who was acting as the tribunal under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007.After being forced by his son to leave his parental house at Baramunda, the the 86-year-old retired government employee had sought protection and property revocation under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, alleging harassment and eviction.While the son lives on the first floor with his family, the elderly father sought to spend his remaining years on the ground floor of the same property. The tribunal directed the son to vacate the ground floor of the house at Baramunda and behave respectfully, while terming the property dispute civil in nature. Dissatisfied, both father and son had approached the high court seeking relief.Taking note of the father’s age, the death of his wife and his desire to live in his parental home, the high court found the tribunal’s order to be in line with Rule 19 of the Orissa Maintenance of Parents and Senior Citizens Rules, 2009, which ensures that senior citizens live with “security and dignity.”In the March 17 order, Justice Behera held that the order was passed to achieve the “noble object” of the Act and saw no grounds for interference. Finding no merit in the son’s plea, the court dismissed the petition, effectively affirming the elderly man’s right to reside peacefully in his ancestral property.
