SATULA DEVI Vs. GOVT. OF NCT OF DELHI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This hearing has been done through video conferencing. CM APPL.171/2022 in W.P.(C) 9643/2018

(2.) This petition relates to guardianship which was sought in respect of a senior citizen who is referred to, since inception, as Mr. DMP, who was a Member of Parliament and was diagnosed with 'fronto-temporal dementia'. The guardianship sought by the Petitioner/Mrs. Satula Devi (hereinafter "Mrs. SD") - i.e., Mr. DMP's wife, was vehemently contested by other family members of Mr. DMP and the petition was heard by this Court from time to time. Mrs. SD was supported by her two sons - Respondent No. 4/Mr. Rajiv Sharma (hereinafter "Mr. RS"), Respondent No.3/Mr. Ranjit Sharma (hereinafter "Mr. RJS") and their respective families. However, Respondent No.5/Ms. Uma Devi (hereinafter "Ms. UD"), who was Mr. DMP's companion, Intervener/Mr. Umesh Sharma (hereinafter "Mr. US")- Mr. DMP's brother, and Respondent No.6/Mrs. Kanchana Rai (hereinafter "Mrs. KR"), - Mr. DMP's daughter-in-law whose husband was the deceased third son of Mr. DMP, and her sons were opposing the present writ petition.

(3.) In the writ petition, the legal position emerging from the two statutes i.e., The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPWD-2016) and The Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 (MHA-2017) was analysed along with the records of the multiple disputes between the parties including a habeas corpus petition which was heard before a Ld. Division Bench of this Court.