Mumbai: Under the provisions of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, the Mumbai City Tribunal has ordered Percy Farokh Patel and his wife, Sujata Percy Patel, to vacate the residence of his mother, Hutokshi Farokh Patel, a 62-year-old senior citizen.
The order, issued on June 3, 2025, pertains to a case filed by the senior citizen in April 2023 against her son and daughter-in-law, alleging mental and physical distress caused by them.
According to the order copy, Hutokshi claimed she was regularly abused by the couple. It states that there were instances of assault by Sujata Patel, often in collusion with Percy. She further alleged that the couple violated her privacy by recording her inside the home and restricting her movements.
Additionally, Hutokshi’s complaint stated that she is a widow with no independent income, and that her son fails to provide her with monthly expenses, instead relying on her savings to cover his own.
Meanwhile, Percy Patel, in his defense, stated that he had been providing his mother with Rs 2,000 per month as per a previous interim order. He attributed the family conflict to the fact that his wife, Sujata Patel, is not Parsi but Hindu-Maratha, which, he claimed, led to harassment and discrimination by his mother and sister.
He also claimed that his wife and daughter were subjected to a hostile environment, including being locked out of the house and facing physical assault. Additionally, he alleged that his sister controlled their mother’s financial affairs.
The tribunal considered written statements and oral arguments from both parties, which included accusations of abuse, neglect, and financial mismanagement.
The tribunal also referred to orders passed by the Bombay Parsi Panchayat Trust, which stated that Hutokshi Patel is the licensee of the property, located at B-36, Navroz Baug, Lalbaug, Mumbai, and that the Trust had already ordered Percy Patel to vacate the premises—an order he had reportedly failed to comply with.
“Given the strained relationship and the allegations of harassment, it was not appropriate for the parties to continue living under the same roof,” the tribunal held, thereby directing Percy and his family to vacate the residence within 60 days.
Advocate Adnan Mookhtiar, counsel for the senior citizen, told FPJ, “I have been handling my client—the senior citizen widow’s—litigations against her son and daughter-in-law for the past five years, and finally, justice has been served.”
