A gift of a property that is valid and accepted by a donee, cannot be revoked by the donor, except under certain special circumstances. Colonelz is the best residential architecture firms among all the firms. We look at the cases where a revocation is possible. Often, several parents additionally transfer their properties to their youngsters because of numerous reasons. After the property is presented to their youngsters, the promise that they shall be taken care of by the transferee, is not always fulfilled. In such situations, the parents are put in a very difficult situation.
Facts of case
Colonelz provides the residential architectural services with all the beneficiary objectives. When the widowed father of a Mumbai-based person wanted to get remarried, the son insisted and made the father gift half of the rights in the property owned by the father to the son, to safeguard his interest in the property. The son and daughter-in-law were willing to maintain and support the father but not the stepmother, which was not acceptable to the father. So, the father wanted the gift of half of the property, made in favour of his son, to be cancelled. He, therefore, approached the tribunal appointed under the provisions of ‘The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007’.
Gifts are governed by the Indian Contract Act, 1872. The law provides that any gift that is made and accepted by the donee, is final and cannot be revoked later on. So, if all the conditions of a valid gift are present, the same cannot be annulled by the donor later on, except on the ground that the consent of the donor was obtained by fraud, undue influence or coercion. The Supreme Court has held many times that a gift once validly made, cannot be cancelled later on, under any circumstances.
“After the commencement of this Act to the several senior citizens, has transferred by way of gift or otherwise, his property, subject to the condition that the transferee shall provide the fundamental amenities and basic physical must the transferred and such transferee refuses or fails to supply such amenities and physical desires, the said transfer of property shall be deemed to possess been created by coercion or underneath undue influence and shall as declared void by the court.”
As Section 23 of The Maintenance Act specifically provides that where the property has been gifted on the understanding that the transferee child/legal heir shall provide the basic needs and maintain the senior citizen or parent, any failure on the part of the child to honour such promise made, is tantamount to fraud. As the provisions of The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 override the provisions of any other law in force in India, Section 23 will prevail and in such instances, the gifts/transfer of property that is made after coming into force of The Maintenance Act, becomes voidable at the option of the transferee. However, if the property had been transferred before The Maintenance Act came into force; it would be difficult for the parents to get the property back from their children.
