February 26, 2025: The Punjab and Haryana High Court expressed strong disapproval after a man filed a petition challenging a lower court's directive to provide Rs 5,000 as monthly maintenance to his 77-year-old mother. The court dismissed the plea, terming it an "example of Kalyug" and ordered the man to deposit Rs 50,000 in his mother’s name within three months.

Justice Jasgurpreet Singh Puri, while rejecting the petition, remarked that not only was the original maintenance order legal, but the amount itself was on the "lower side." The court noted that the elderly woman had not even filed a plea seeking an increase in maintenance.

According to the case details, the woman’s husband passed away in 1992, leaving behind two sons and a daughter. While one of her sons later passed away, she has been living with her married daughter due to a lack of financial support. Following her husband's death, 50 bighas of land was transferred to her surviving son and the children of her deceased son.

The petitioner argued that since his mother was not residing with him, he should not be liable to pay maintenance. However, the woman’s counsel countered that she had no independent income and was entirely dependent on her daughter for survival.

Taking a firm stance, the High Court stated that the son had no justification for contesting the maintenance order, given that he inherited property from his father while his elderly mother remained financially vulnerable.

"This case shocks the conscience of this court," the judge remarked, emphasizing the moral and legal responsibility of children to care for their aging parents.