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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Commercial LPG 'evaporates' in Maharashtra

Mumbai : The short supply of commercial LPG cylinders turned ‘grim’ on Wednesday as hundreds of small and medium eateries – on whom the ordinary working Mumbaikars depend on for daily meals – shut down or drastically trimmed menus, on Wednesday.   With an estimated 50,000-plus hotels, restaurants and small food joints, the crunch is beginning to be felt severely, said Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Association of India (FHRAI) vice-president and Hotel and Restaurant Association Western...

Commercial LPG 'evaporates' in Maharashtra

Mumbai : The short supply of commercial LPG cylinders turned ‘grim’ on Wednesday as hundreds of small and medium eateries – on whom the ordinary working Mumbaikars depend on for daily meals – shut down or drastically trimmed menus, on Wednesday.   With an estimated 50,000-plus hotels, restaurants and small food joints, the crunch is beginning to be felt severely, said Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Association of India (FHRAI) vice-president and Hotel and Restaurant Association Western India (HRAWI) spokesperson Pradeep Shetty.   “We are in continuous touch with the concerned authorities, but the situation is very gloomy. There is no response from the Centre or the Ministry of Petroleum on when the situation will ease. We fear that more than 50 pc of all eateries in Mumbai will soon down the shutters. The same will apply to the rest of the state and many other parts of India,” Shetty told  ‘ The Perfect Voice’ .   The shortage of commercial LPG has badly affected multiple sectors, including the hospitality and food industries, mass private or commercial kitchens and even the laundry businesses, industry players said.   At their wits' ends, many restaurateurs resorted to the reliable old iron ‘chulhas’ (stoves) fired by either coal or wood - the prices of which have also shot up and result in pollution - besides delaying the cooking.   Anticipating a larger crisis, even domestic LPG consumers besieged retail dealers in Mumbai, Pune, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Ratnagiri, Kolhapur, Akola, Nagpur to book their second cylinder, with snaky queues in many cities. The stark reality of the 12-days old Gulf war with the disturbed supplies has hit the people and industries in the food supply chains that feed crores daily.   “The ordinary folks leave home in the morning after breakfast, then they rely on the others in the food chain for their lunch or dinner. Many street retailers have also shut down temporarily,” said Shetty.   Dry Snacks A quick survey of some suburban ‘khau gullies’ today revealed that the available items were mostly cold sandwiches, fruit or vegetable salads, cold desserts or ice-creams, cold beverages and packed snacks. Few offered the regular ‘piping hot’ foods that need elaborate cooking, or charging higher than normal menu rates, and even the app-based food delivery system was impacted.   Many people were seen gloomily munching on colorful packets of dry snacks like chips, chivda, sev, gathiya, samosas, etc. for lunch, the usually cheerful ‘chai ki dukaans’ suddenly disappeared from their corners, though soft drinks and tetrapaks were available.   Delay, Scarcity  Maharashtra LPG Dealers Association President Deepak Singh yesterday conceded to “some delays due to supply shortages” of commercial cylinders, but assured that there is no scarcity of domestic cylinders.   “We are adhering to the Centre’s guidelines for a 25 days booking period between 2 cylinders (domestic). The issue is with commercial cylinders but even those are available though less in numbers,” said Singh, adding that guidelines to prioritise educational institutions, hospitals, and defence, are being followed, but others are also getting their supplies.   Despite the assurances, Shetty said that the current status is extremely serious since the past week and the intermittent disruptions have escalated into a near-total halt in supplies in many regions since Monday.   Adding to the dismal picture is the likelihood of local hoteliers associations in different cities like Pune, Palghar, Nagpur, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, and more resorting to tough measures from Thursday, including temporary shutdown of their outlets, which have run out of gas stocks.

Madras HC: Senior Citizens Can Cancel Gift or Settlement Deeds If Neglected by Beneficiaries

  • PTI
  • Mar 19, 2025
  • 3 min read

Updated: Mar 20, 2025

High Court upholds right of elderly to revoke property transfers under the Senior Citizens Act if children or relatives fail to care for them


Madras HC

Chennai: Senior Citizens can cancel the gift or settle deeds executed in favour of their children or close relatives if they failed to take care of them, even if it was not explicitly mentioned in the conditions imposed in the deeds, the Madras High Court has ruled.


A division bench comprising Justices S M Subramaniam and K Rajasekar dismissed an appeal filed by S Mala, daughter-in-law of deceased S Nagalakshmi.

Originally, Nagalakshmi executed a settlement deed in favour of her son Kesavan with a fond hope that he and her daughter-in-law will take care of her till her lifetime. But he failed to take care of her. Her daughter-in-law also neglected her after her son died. Therefore, she approached the RDO, Nagapattinam.


After recording her statement that she executed the deed out of love and affection and for the future of her son, and after considering the statements of Mala, the RDO cancelled the settlement deed. Challenging this, Mala filed a petition and it was dismissed. Hence, she filed the present appeal.

The bench said section 23(1) of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 was designed to protect senior citizens in situations, where they transfer their property, either through a gift or settlement, with the expectation that the transferee will provide for their basic amenities. If the transferee fails to meet these obligations, the senior citizen has the option to seek a declaration from the Tribunal to void the transfer, the bench added.


The Act acknowledges that property transfers from senior citizens, especially to children or close relatives, were often motivated by love and affection. The senior citizen's decision to transfer property was not merely a legal act but one made with the hope of being cared for in their old age. This love and affection become implied condition in the transaction, even if the transfer document itself does not explicitly state it.


If the transferee does not provide the promised care, the senior citizen can invoke Section 23(1) to have the transfer annulled, the bench added.

The court futher said the facts established in the present case before the RDO under the Senior Citizens Act reveal that the aged woman, during the relevant point of time, was 87 years old and she was totally neglected by her daughter-in-law.


The bench said the judgments analysed in its order amplify the legislative intention of the Parliament, indicating that an implied condition was sufficient, and factual inferences can be drawn based on the nature of the Settlement or Gift Deed executed. The circumstances under which the property was transferred were also to be taken into consideration. Thus, the implied condition would be sufficient for compliance with the condition stipulated under Section 23(1) of the Senior Citizens Act, empowering the competent authority to annul the Settlement or Gift Deed in such circumstances, the bench added.


The bench said the legal position, in the context of the principles laid down by the Supreme Court of India and High Courts, makes it clear that the conditions under Section 23(1) of the Senior Citizens Act need not be explicit, but might be implied. The love and affection being the consideration, which can be traced out in the Settlement Deed, would be sufficient to hold that such love and affection was an implied condition that the senior citizen will be taken care of by the beneficiary of the Settlement Deed or gift deed. In the event of neglecting the senior citizen, the deed of settlement or gift was liable to be annulled, the bench added.


The bench said in the present case, the senior citizen, both in her complaint and before the RDO, categorically deposed that she was completely neglected by her son during his lifetime and by her daughter-in-law.


The senior citizen has three daughters, but she executed the settlement deed in favour of her only son, denying equal property rights to her daughters. Therefore, it would be a natural expectation that her son and daughter-in-law would take care of her till her lifetime.


Such a condition being implied under Section 23(1) of the Senior Citizens Act, the decision of the competent authority annulling the Settlement Deed was in consonance with the spirit and objectives of the Senior Citizens Act, the bench added.

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