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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Appeal in SC for homes for elderly

Appeal in SC for homes for elderly

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published Published on Mar 2, 2015   modified Modified on Mar 2, 2015
-The Telegraph

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has asked the ministries of social justice and health and family welfare to respond to a plea to set up homes for senior citizens across the country because "over-ambitious" children were increasingly neglecting their aged parents.

Justices Madan B. Lokur and U.U. Lalit, however, refrained from issuing notices to the Centre, states and Union territories on three other pleas: a national commission for senior citizens, special geriatric care centres across the country and special courses for geriatric care in medical colleges as part of the curriculum.

"We are issuing notices on the limited issue with regard to prayer No. 1 (old age homes in each district). Other prayers we will consider at a later stage," Justice Lokur, who was heading the bench, said while issuing the notice to the Centre on Friday.

The petitioner, Sanjeeb Panigrahi, said he had been forced to approach the court as his representations to the Prime Minister, the ministries of health and family welfare, and social justice and empowerment, state governments and Union territories in December last year had not got any response yet.

"The Union government and various state governments have utterly failed in containing the increasing number of deaths, untold miseries and indignities experienced by the elderly people due to insufficient number of geriatric care centres, social security coverage and old age homes in the country," Panigrahi, a practising advocate in the court, said in his petition.

He also said there were not enough medical personnel trained to handle old age-related problems.

As for ill treatment of the elderly, he said every other day, "we see news of parents being beaten up by their children, parents and in-laws being forced to do household chores, being made to live in small dungeon-like rooms, (and) their property being forcefully taken over by over ambitious children".

The public interest petition cited statistics to claim that nearly 40 per cent of senior citizens who live with their families have reportedly faced some kind of abuse, but only one in six cases has actually come to light.

The situation for India's elderly, the PIL added, was grim because of the negligible social security net for this vulnerable section.

The petition cited census figures to say that the population of senior citizens, aged 60 and above, had more than doubled from 4.25 crore in 1981 to 10.38 crore by 2011 - or about 8.6 per cent of the country's total population.


The Telegraph, 2 March, 2015, http://www.telegraphindia.com/1150302/jsp/nation/story_6425.jsp#.VPQECuFr9U8


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