The Bombay High Court has come down heavily on a man who sought to restrain his elderly parents from using his Mumbai home during their medical visits, calling it a disturbing reflection of eroding family values.
Justice Jitendra Jain, in an order passed on Thursday, declined to grant any relief to the petitioner who had challenged a 2018 civil court order refusing to bar his parents from entering his Goregaon residence.
The judge described the case as a “sorry state of affairs,” observing that a son choosing to drag his ailing parents to court instead of caring for them revealed a deep moral decline.
Justice Jain said society had “forgotten Shravan Kumar,” recalling the character from the Ramayan known for his unwavering devotion to his parents. The court remarked that in the present age “there is something very seriously wrong in the upbringing of our children that a child is taking the parents to the court instead of the pilgrimage.”
The bench also cited traditional aphorisms highlighting a child’s duty to care for parents, calling it a “sacred and moral duty” and a “labour of love.”
“Parents can take care of ten children, but sometimes ten children cannot take care of their parents,” Justice Jain noted, lamenting the contrast between ideals and present-day reality.
The judge held that the petitioner was expected to take responsibility for his elderly parents, who currently live in Kolhapur but frequently travel nearly 380 km to Mumbai for treatment at J J Hospital.
In a firm directive, the court ordered that the petitioner or his wife must personally receive the parents in Mumbai, bring them to their home, and accompany them to the hospital for treatment.
Any inconvenience caused to the parents or breach of these directions would invite contempt proceedings, the court warned.
With these findings, the high court dismissed the petitioner’s plea outright, reinforcing that courts will not entertain actions that undermine basic familial obligations.
The ruling underscores the judiciary’s stance that disputes involving parental care cannot be treated as mere property or injunction matters, and must be viewed through the lens of moral and social responsibility as well.
