CHANDIGARH, May 22 — A local court has directed Sandeep Gulati, son of an 84-year-old bedridden woman, to pay ₹11.4 lakh in unpaid maintenance dues accrued over six years. The order, passed by Judicial Magistrate (First Class) Navjot Kaur, comes after years of legal battle initiated by the woman, Santosh Gulati, who filed the case through her other son, Vineet Gulati, acting as her Special Power of Attorney (SPA) holder.
The court took up the matter under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, after Santosh filed a complaint in 2019 against her husband, Lalit Gulati—a retired Indian Air Force airman—and son Sandeep Gulati, accusing them of harassment and attempts to evict her from her home in Sector 35.
Santosh stated that her husband was an alcoholic and alleged that Sandeep tried to forcefully remove her from the ground floor of their residence to deny her share in the property. In response, both Lalit and Sandeep claimed the petition was orchestrated by Vineet, accusing him of having designs on her property.
Despite the trial court passing an order in her favor in 2023, Sandeep failed to make any payments, prompting Santosh to file an execution application. The matter was further delayed as both sides went into appeal, which was decided by the court in January 2025.
The appellate court upheld the maintenance award of ₹30,000 per month but modified its distribution. It directed that Sandeep pay ₹20,000 per month while Lalit contribute ₹10,000, with the arrangement backdated to 2019—the year the application was originally filed.
In her ruling, Magistrate Navjot Kaur said, “Considering the old age and medical history of the complainant, the respondents—Lalit and Sandeep Gulati—are directed to pay the outstanding amount. Failing this, coercive steps will be taken against Sandeep Gulati.”
The court’s order not only reaffirms the maintenance rights of elderly women under the Domestic Violence Act but also reflects growing judicial sensitivity to elder abuse within families.
