Urmila Dixit v. Sunil Sharan Dixit

In Urmila Dixit v. Sunil Sharan Dixit (2025 SCC OnLine SC 2), the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India clarified the scope of Section 23 of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 (“MWPSC Act”), delivering a significant judgment on the revocation of conditional gift deeds executed by senior citizens.

The petitioner, Urmila Dixit, had executed a registered gift deed in favour of her son on 19 September 2019, transferring an immovable property. On the same day, the donee executed a separate “Vachan Patra” (written undertaking), expressly agreeing to maintain the donor and her husband. Alleging breach of this obligation and instances of ill-treatment, the petitioner sought revocation of the deed before the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), who allowed the claim under Section 23. The Collector and Single Judge of the Hon’ble Madhya Pradesh High Court affirmed this finding. However, the Division Bench reversed the decision, reasoning that the condition for maintenance must be expressly contained within the deed itself.

However, the Hon’ble Supreme Court, allowing the appeal, held that a liberal and purposive construction must be applied to the MWPSC Act. It ruled that conditions for maintenance need not be confined to the four corners of the gift deed, and that contemporaneous documents like the Vachan Patra could establish such conditions. The Court thus quashed the deed and directed the donee to restore possession of the property to the petitioner by 28 February 2025.

This decision reinforces the welfare centric objective of the MWPSC Act and strengthens the legal protections available to elderly citizens against neglectful family members. It also affirms the admissibility of collateral documents in establishing conditionality under Section 23, thereby broadening the interpretive framework available to tribunals and courts adjudicating such claims.

Source

https://indiankanoon.org/doc/194091211/