HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court has set aside the administrative cancellation of a 2018 gift deed executed by an elderly man in favour of his grandson, holding that the authority which ordered the cancellation lacked jurisdiction under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007.
The case arose after the man gifted a residential property in Medchal–Malkajgiri district to his grandson, C Srinivas. The grandson later demolished the old structure and constructed a new building, stating that
he spent about `4 crore. The grandfather subsequently sought cancellation of the gift deed, alleging that Srinivas had failed to provide care and maintenance.
The primary authority and the district collector rejected the request, noting that the gift deed contained no condition requiring maintenance and that the dispute was civil in nature. The grandfather then approached the commissioner/director, who remanded the matter, following which the additional district collector cancelled the gift deed. A single judge later upheld the cancellation while dismissing the grandson’s writ petitions.
Allowing the writ appeal, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice GM Mohiuddin held that the 2007 Act provides only a two-tier mechanism — adjudication by a Tribunal and one appeal to the Appellate Tribunal. It does not confer any power on the commissioner or director to entertain a second appeal or review.
The bench ruled that the commissioner lacked jurisdiction to remand the case and that the subsequent cancellation order was void. It also found no material to support allegations of fraud against the grandson. The court clarified that it had not expressed any opinion on the grandfather’s substantive rights, leaving the parties free to pursue remedies before a civil court.