Spare Rs 1,000 per month for 75-yr-old mother, court tells son

“Dulari Devi is residing in her own house. The fact that she is old also suggests that over and above the minimum requirement of clothes and ration, she might also be needing some amount towards medical aid,” Additional Sessions Judge Narottam Kaushal said.

Modifying an order of Metropolitan Magistrate directing her son Om Prakash to pay Rs 500 per month, the court said, “Merely Rs 500 per month for an old lady is of course too meagre. I, therefore, hold that Dulari is entitled to be paid at the rate of Rs 1,000 per month.”

Dulari Devi was awarded the maintenance of Rs 500 by the Metropolitan Magistrate in January on her petition filed under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

In her revision petition, her counsel argued that the amount of Rs 500 per month is too small for an old lady to survive while her son had an assured income of Rs 10,000 per month.

Her son, however, contended that he had two unmarried daughters and had financial limitations due to a large family to support.

“There is no evidence to reflect that Dulari Devi has any independent source of income. Her right to claim maintenance cannot be disputed. Similarly respondent’s liability to maintain his mother can also not be disputed,” the court said.

It also said, “Judicial notice can be taken of the fact that even for a person of lower middle class, respectable amount to lead a decent life in the old age, will be close to Rs 3,000 and 4,000 thousand per month.”