Legal Advice

My pensioner mother is demanding maintenance from her son

Question: Hi. My mother lives in our own house in Kolkata with my unmarried sister. My father died in 2014 and left no will. The house now has 3 equal shares between the three of us. My mother is demanding that I give away my share of the house to her. Otherwise my mother has threatened that she would demand maintenance from me. My mother is a family pensioner and also has a lot of money invested in the bank earning interest. She is staying in her own house built by my late father. Can she demand maintenance from me? Please help me with legal advice.

Advise

A pensioner possesses adequate financial means to sustain herself; therefore, your pensioner mother does not have a valid basis to seek maintenance from her children. Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in India primarily serves the purpose of providing maintenance to specific categories of individuals who lack the financial capacity to support themselves. The main objective of Section 125 CrPC is to ensure that those entitled to maintenance receive financial support from certain family members when they are incapable of self-sustenance.

If your mother proceeds to claim maintenance and initiates a legal case under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, it is advisable to raise an objection regarding the maintainability of the case. The case is not maintainable as it contravenes the provisions outlined in Section 125 CrPC. Given that your mother is not in a state of destitution, her claim for maintenance is unlikely to succeed.

Shivendra Pratap Singh

Advocate

High Court Lucknow

Family Law | Maintenance

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