Lack Of Pleadings Showing Neglect No Grounds To Reject Senior Citizen's Plea To Void Gift Deed In Favour Of Child: Delhi High Court

A division bench comprising Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela observed,

“While exercising the powers under Section 23(1) of the Senior Citizens Act on an application moved by a senior citizen seeking declaration that the deed is void, the Tribunal is expected to look into all the relevant material and not only the bare contents of the application so made.”

Section 23 of the Senior Citizens Act empowers the Tribunal to void the transfer of property by way of gift, in case the Senior Citizen had transferred the property subject to the condition that the transferee shall provide basic amenities and physical needs but the transferee refuses or fails to do so.

In the Case at hand, the 88 years old Respondent claimed to have gifted her immovable property to the daughter-in-law. However, the said facts were not forthcoming from her pleadings before the High Court.

In fact, she had sought cancellation of the gift deed on the ground that it was executed under pressure and cheating.

Since the Tribunal allowed her plea, the daughter in-law preferred an appeal before the High Court.

She contended that in the absence of pleadings to the effect that the deed in question was executed subject to the condition that the transferee shall provide basic amenities and physical needs of the transferor and such transferee refuses or fails to provide such amenities and physical needs, provisions of Section 23(1) of the Senior Citizens Act cannot be put to service for the declaration of the deed as void.

The High Court however observed that the Respondent had addressed a letter to the Tribunal, clearly stating that the appellant— after execution of the gift deed— had not provided any clothes, personal articles or medicines.

In yet another letter, the Respondent apprised the Tribunal that after getting the gift deed executed, the appellant continuously misbehaved with her.

The Court said that the Tribunal was justified in relying on these documents, amid lack of such averments in the Respondent's pleadings. It said,

“It is true that in the application moved by respondent no.1 under Section 23(1) of the Senior Citizens Act it has specifically not been pleaded that the gift deed in question was executed subject to the condition that the appellant shall provide basic amenities and basic physical needs to respondent no.1, however various letters and applications made by respondent no.1 before the Tribunal clearly, disclose and establish that the reason which impelled respondent no.1 to execute the gift deed in favour of the appellant was a promise and hope that appellant shall take care of the needs of respondent no.1 who is considerably old being 88 years of age.”

As such, it dismissed the appeal.

Appearance: Mr. Pankaj Batra, Adv. for Appellant; Mr. Siddharth Banthia, Adv. for R-1. Ms. Vaishali Gupta, Adv. for GNCTD

Case title: Varinder Kaur v. Daljit Kaur & Ors.

Case no.: LPA 587/2025

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