Hyderabad: A court in Ranga Reddy district convicted a man and his wife for threatening, criminal intimidation, and insulting his mother, who is in her seventies, and throwing her out of her own house.
The court directed the couple to undergo two years of rigorous imprisonment and pay Rs 10,000 each towards the penalty.
On October 13, 2015, G. E. Prema Kumari, a resident of Neredmet, had lodged a complaint with the Neredmet police stating that her elder son Amit Kumar, 40, and daughter-in-law Shobi-tha Lavanya, 34, prevented her from entering her husband’s house after illegally taking possession of it.
Ms Prema Kumari has two sons and a daughter. After they got married, both sons lived separately with their families. Her husband died in 2013.
In February 2015, Amit Kumar and his wife, who were living in Musheera-bad, shifted to Ms Kumari’s house without her consent. He Amit told his mother that he would get the property transferred on to her name, but he got it transferred onto his name.
On the day she lodged the complaint, Ms Kumari went out on some work. Amit Kumar and Lavanya locked the house and went out. When Ms Kumari called them about the keys, they threatened her life and told her not to return to the house.
“My elder son has threatened to kill me if I ask about the house. He claims that it is his property and abused me in very vulgar language. My life has been threatened and my elder son Amit would be responsible for it,” stated Ms Kumar in her complaint to the Neredmet police.
The police had registered a case under Sections 341, 506, 509 and 471 of the Indian Penal Code, and arrested the couple.
Rachakonda police said that after investigation, the case was chargesheeted before the Nineteenth Metropol-itan Magistrate’s Court which after conducting a trial convicted Amit Kumar and Shobitha Lavanya on the charges framed against them.
The court directed the two to undergo two years of rigorous imprisonment and pay `10,000 each towards the penalty, said the police.
Inspector A. Narsimha Swamy of the Neredmet police said: “As the house was transferred to Amit Kumar’s name illegally, the house now goes to Ms Kumari. She has been living with her other children until now.”
It is mandatory for children to take care of their parents and elders in the family. The law allows elderly citizens to approach a tribunal which specifically deals with cases of negligence and improper treatment of parents and also lack of maintenance by the concerned, including grandchildren and relatives.
Supreme Court lawyer Sarasari Satyam Reddy said: “The Supreme Court has said children would not have any rights on the property owned by their parents unless they are given a share. If the property is ancestrally obtained, the parents have all the rights to enjoy the property and only after their demise, their children can claim it.”
Besides the Mainte-nance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, the CrPC has also a provision making it mandatory for children to look after their parents and elders in their family, he said.
