High Court grants protection to woman

KOCHI: An 89-year-old spinster has been granted police protection by the Kerala high court against her being ousted from her home, which was gifted by her to her niece.
The woman, Lilly Gomez of Fathima Mandiram near Chirayinkeezhu railway station in Thiruvananthapuram, had executed a will in 1984 in favour of her niece, Sheelu Dally Amma of Murukkumpuzha, to the effect that her house and other landed properties would devolve after her death to her niece.
She approached the high court through advocate Manoj R Nair seeking police protection to her life and residence, pointing out that there have been incessant attempts on the part of her niece to evict her from her home.
Though Lilly had filed a petition to Thiruvananthapuram city police commissioner on July 9 this year, she didn't get any help from police. Thereafter, she approached the revenue divisional officer (RDO) of Thiruvananthapuram, who is the tribunal designated under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act of 2007, with a complaint on November 8 this year.
When the city police commissioner and the RDO failed to take any action to prevent Lilly's niece from driving her away from her own home, she filed the petition at the high court. While the desperate woman was running from one authority to another in her effort to get help for staying at her own home, her niece filed a civil suit against her seeking an order preventing her from executing any other will.
When the petition seeking police protection came up for hearing before division bench comprising of justices KM Joseph and K Harilal, the niece's counsel M Dinesh submitted that the niece is staying with the woman and that no effort will be made by the niece to throw the woman out of her house.
The court disposed the petition by ordering the sub inspector of Chirayinkeezhu police station to give protection to the life of the petitioner and also for her residence in the house if the woman complains of further threats from her niece.