Bombay High Court

JITESH DUDHALEversusAPPELLATE SENIOR CITIZEN TRIBUNAL AND ORS

Decided: 10 April 2026
Disposal: Disposed Off
Bench: N JAMADAR

Holding

Appeals under Section 16 of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 are maintainable and the Appellate Tribunal must register and hear the appeal.

Summary

The petitioner, Jitesh Dudhale, challenged an order dated 11 March 2026 of the Maintenance Tribunal under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007. He had filed an appeal before the Appellate Senior Citizen Tribunal on 29 March 2026, but the Tribunal refused to register the appeal. Relying on the Supreme Court’s decision in Jagdish Pitambar Pawar v. Pitambar Pundalik Pawar, the High Court held that an appeal by a senior citizen or his relatives under Section 16 of the Act is maintainable. Consequently, the Court directed the Appellate Tribunal to register and hear the appeal and to consider any stay application filed within two weeks. The time to comply with the Maintenance Tribunal’s order was extended by two weeks to enable the petitioner to file the appeal.

Issues considered

Whether an appeal filed by a senior citizen or his relatives under Section 16 of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 is maintainable before the Appellate Tribunal when the Tribunal refuses to register it
Whether the High Court can compel the Appellate Tribunal to register and hear such an appeal
Whether the period for compliance with the Maintenance Tribunal’s order can be extended

Legislation cited

Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 — s. 16

Subjects

Maintenance Tribunal
Appellate Senior Citizen Tribunal
Section 16
Senior citizen welfare
Writ petition
Appeal registration
Time extension

Judgment

            Digitally signed
SANTOSH by SANTOSH
         SUBHASH
SUBHASH KULKARNI
KULKARNI Date: 2026.04.10                                13-WP44472-2026.DOC
            21:24:52 +0530



                                                                      Santosh

             IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
                               CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION


                               WRIT PETITION NO. 4472 OF 2026

 Jitesh Dudhale                                                 ...Petitioner
                    Versus
 Appellate Senior Citizen Tribunal And Ors                  …Respondents

 Mr. Aditya Lele, a/w Atul Mishra, for the Petitioner.
 Smt. Neha Bhide, GP, a/w Vaishali Nimbalkar, AGP for the
      State.

                                             CORAM: N. J. JAMADAR, J.
                                             DATED: 10th APRIL, 2026

 Oral Order:-

 1.          Heard the learned Counsel for the petitioner.


 2.          The challenge in this petition is to an order dated 11 th

 March, 2026 passed by the Maintenance Tribunal under the

 Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act,

 2007.


 3.          The learned Counsel for the petitioner submits that the

 petitioner assailed the said order by ;ling an appeal before the

 Appellate Tribunal, on 29th March, 2026. However, the Appellate

 Tribunal refused to register the appeal.




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                                                      13-WP44472-2026.DOC

4.   In view of the decision of this Court in the case of Jagdish

Pitambar Pawar Vs Pitambar Pundalik Pawar and Ors,1 the

appeal at the instance of the children and the relatives of a

senior citizen is maintainable before the Appellate Tribunal

under Section 16 of the Act, 2007.


5.   Since the Appellate Tribunal has declined to register the

appeal, the petitioner was constrained to prefer this petition.


6.   The petition, thus, stands disposed with a direction to the

Appellate Tribunal to hear and decide the appeal which may be

preferred by the petitioner.


7.   If such appeal is ;led within a period of two weeks

alongwith   an   application    for    stay   to   the   order   of   the

Maintenance Tribunal, the Appellate Tribunal is directed to hear

such application, expeditiously.


8.   To facilitate the petitioner to approach the Appellate

Tribunal and ;le the appeal, the time to comply with the order

dated 11th March, 2026 stands extended by two weeks.




                                        [N. J. JAMADAR, J.]




1    Writ Petition No.36 of 2023, dated 29/11/2023.
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