"Son and Daughter-in-Law Have No Inherent Right to Father's Self-Acquired Property"

Concluding a protracted 13-year legal battle, an Ahmedabad civil court has delivered a landmark verdict upholding an elderly father's absolute right to evict his estranged son and daughter-in-law from his self-acquired residential property. The court firmly established that a father's independently purchased or constructed house cannot be legally claimed as a "shared household" under domestic violence statutes simply due to marriage, granting the couple a 90-day deadline to vacate the premises and restore peace to the senior citizen's home.

The 13-Year Legal Struggle: Background of the Family Dispute

The protracted legal journey began over a decade ago due to escalating domestic friction:

• Living Arrangements: The elderly father had purchased the residential property through his personal earnings back in the 1980s, residing on the upper floor while his son and daughter-in-law lived on the ground floor following their 2002 marriage.

• Marital Discord and Eviction Suit: Persistent domestic quarrels between the couple led them to occupy separate rooms, culminating in the son filing for divorce. Exhausted by the continuous acrimony, the senior citizen approached the civil court in 2013 seeking legal eviction of the couple to secure his peace of mind.

• Conflicting Claims: While the son did not contest his father's ownership or oppose the eviction suit, the daughter-in-law contested the petition, alleging it was a collusive tactic by her husband to exert pressure during pending matrimonial proceedings and asserting her legal right to reside in the house as a "shared household" under the Domestic Violence (DV) Act.

Court Verdict: Self-Acquired Property Excluded From "Shared Household" Definitions

Presiding City Civil Judge V.A. Dhadhal examined the extensive documentary evidence and established clear legal boundaries regarding senior citizen property rights:

• Absolute Ownership Proved: Land registry records, sale deeds, and financial documents conclusively demonstrated that the property was purchased entirely through the father's independent earnings, making him the sole legal owner.

• Interpreting Supreme Court Precedents: Citing established apex court jurisprudence, the bench clarified that an elderly parent's exclusive personal property does not automatically qualify as a "shared household" for a daughter-in-law, stripping her of an inherent right to occupy the premises against the owner's wishes.

• Exemption for the Granddaughter: The court explicitly noted that the eviction order does not extend to the couple's adult daughter, as the grandfather's suit sought no legal relief against his granddaughter.