Senior Citizens Act cannot be weapon in marital disputes, says Punjab and Haryana High Court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that the Senior Citizens Act cannot be weaponized in marital disputes. The court dismissed an appeal filed by a 70-year-old woman who had sought to use the law to evict her estranged daughter-in-law from the family home.

The bench held that while the Senior Citizens Act is designed to safeguard elderly persons from neglect and abandonment by their children, it cannot be invoked to settle personal grievances or facilitate removal of family members in matrimonial conflicts. The court emphasized that such misuse undermines the protective spirit of the legislation.