For over three years, a 96-year-old man and his 86-year-old wife have languished in a high-rise apartment in Gurugram’s upscale DLF City Phase IV, their cries of distress echoing through the hallways. Allegedly abandoned by their son, who lives abroad, the couple survives with the minimal assistance of two untrained attendants—without medical oversight, proper care, or the dignity of consistent human contact.
Despite the intervention of the Haryana Human Rights Commission (HHRC), which last month issued directives for immediate welfare action, the couple remains unattended by any official agency.
A Systemic Silence
The Ridgewood Estate Condominium Association, alarmed by the increasingly frail condition of the couple and their audible pleas for help, filed a formal complaint with the HHRC. In response, Justice Lalit Batra (Retd.), Chairperson of the Commission, cited a clear violation of Article 21 of the Constitution—the fundamental right to life and dignity. He called the neglect not just a family matter, but a public human rights failure.
On May 24, the HHRC ordered the Gurugram district administration to form a multidisciplinary team comprising officials from the departments of social welfare, health, police, and district legal services to assess the situation and provide relief. The report was to be submitted by July 3, 2025. Yet, as of June, no official has visited the apartment or contacted the residents’ association.
“We hear them cry at night. We see their condition worsening. We did everything we could, but now even the human rights body’s directions are being ignored,” said a representative of the condominium’s managing committee.
Abandonment and Accountability
The couple’s son, Rajesh Mitra, reportedly resides overseas and has cut off active engagement with his parents, violating not only moral responsibilities but potentially Section 24 of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, which criminalizes the abandonment of senior citizens.
Legal experts say the couple’s case represents a broader failure in enforcement and administrative willpower. “This is not just an isolated case of family breakdown—it is symptomatic of systemic apathy toward elder care,” said a retired district judge familiar with the matter.
The Call for Urgent Reform
India’s elderly population is rapidly growing, and yet the infrastructure for their care, particularly in urban centers, remains fragile. While laws exist on paper, cases like this expose the deep disconnect between legal mandates and ground-level implementation.