Senior Citizens—Protections in Law, an Overview

Abstract

India is increasingly seeing a changing social reality whereby joint families are giving way to nuclear families. This naturally leads to an increasing number of senior citizens, who are being left to fend for themselves, without the support of the immediate family. This reality is coupled with the prediction that the population of senior citizens in India is likely to increase to more than 19% of the total population, by the year 2050. It is imperative that we protect the life of our senior citizens, as well as their property during their lifetime. The role of the government in the protection of the senior citizens has now essentially increased. By this article, I will discuss the legislation, protection and programmes that are currently available (as they exist on 15 May 2020) to protect the senior citizens in India. I will also briefly discuss the global position of the legislation and protection for the senior citizens that exist in some countries like USA and UK; to identify certain lacunae in our system that need to be addressed. I will conclude with some suggestions for changes that must be made in our system to ensure that the senior citizens are not only protected, but are also comfortable in the final years of their lives.