Abandonment Of Senior Citizen Must Be Total & Complete Without Any Arrangement Of Care To Constitute An Offence: Kerala High Court

Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas observed:

“Thus unless there is a total and complete abandonment of the parent by leaving him in a place without any arrangement for taking care of the senior citizen, the offence cannot be said to have been committed."

It was submitted that the petitioner had sent his father from his house in Ernakulam to his sister's house in Trivandrum. Petitioner's sister after 3 months filed a complaint saying that the petitioner abandoned his father by putting him in a taxi when he was unable to take care of himself. This case was filed to quash the proceedings on that complaint pending before the Magistrate's Court.

The petitioner alleged that the sister had mala fide intentions for filing this complaint.

The Court observed that a parent can be made to travel between the children for a variety of reasons. It stated that this might even be based on an understanding reached between the children or between the parent and child. The fact that a taxi was arranged to take him from Ernakulam to Trivandrum shows that there was no abandonment, the court observed.

The Court also noted that the complaint was moved by the daughter of the senior citizen, and not by the senior citizen itself, and that too after 3 months.

Accordingly, the Court said that continuing with this prosecution would be an abuse of the process of court and quashed further proceedings.

Counsel for the Petitioner: Advocates K. R. Vinod, M. S. Letha, Nabil Khader, Rahul S.

Counsel for Respondent: Public Prosecutor Ashi M. C.

Case No: Crl.M.C. 1262 of 2024

Case Title: Dr. Pramod John v State of Kerala

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Ker) 409