Kerala High Court Quashes Abandonment Charges Under Senior Citizens Act

The Kerala High Court recently quashed the proceedings against Dr. Pramod John, accused of abandoning his elderly father under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 (the Act) [Dr Pramod John v State of Kerala].

Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas held that for the offense of abandonment under Section 24 of the Act to be established, there must be a total and complete abandonment of the senior citizen. 

"The term ‘abandoning’ requires total neglect. The said term when prefixed by the word ‘wholly’ indicates absolute and complete abandonment... Thus unless there is a total and complete abandonment of the parent by leaving him in a place without any arrangement for taking care of the senior citizen, the offence cannot be said to have been committed," the Court explained.

The judgment clarifies that leaving a senior citizen somewhere with necessary arrangements for their care does not constitute abandonment.

The case arose when Pramod John's sister filed a complaint alleging that he had abandoned their father, who suffers from age-related illnesses, by sending him in a taxi from Ernakulam to Thiruvananthapuram. John then approached the High Court to quash the proceedings.

John's counsel argued that the complaint was baseless and motivated by malice, filed three months after the alleged incident. They contended that arranging a taxi for transporting the elderly parent to his daughter's house did not amount to abandonment as per law.

The Public Prosecutor, however, contended that the matter required a trial for proper adjudication and that quashing the proceedings at this stage was inappropriate.

Upon reviewing the submissions, the Court found that the first information report (FIR) incorrectly cited Section 20(3) of the Act, which does not exist. The correct provision for abandonment is Section 24 of the Act, which states:

"Whoever, having the care or protection of the senior citizen, leaves such senior citizen in any place with the intention of wholly abandoning such senior citizen, shall be punishable with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three months or fine which may extend to five thousand rupees or with both."

The Court noted that the provision uses the word "wholly" to describe the offense and concluded that the circumstances did not demonstrate total neglect by the son. 

"The very fact that a taxi was arranged to transport the senior citizen/parent to his daughter's house indicates that there was no abandonment as contemplated by law," the Court stated.

The Court also observed that the prosecution's case lacked substance, noting that the complaint did not originate from the elderly parent himself but from his daughter.

In conclusion, the Kerala High Court quashed the proceedings against Pramod John, emphasizing that unless there is total and complete abandonment, the offense under Section 24 of the Act cannot be said to have been committed.

Author: Anushka Taraniya 

News writer