KOCHI: The High Court has said that sons are responsible for protecting their parents, who work hard to raise their children. They should look after their parents in their old age with love and affection. The court also informed that this is not just a moral duty but a legal responsibility as well.

Justice Dr. Kauser Edappagath said that ignoring an elderly father will weaken the foundation of society. He made this observation while delivering the case verdict of a 74-year-old man from Edayur, Valanchery, Malappuram. The sons were ordered to pay their father Rs. 20,000 per month. The High Court rejected the Tirur Family Court order, which accepted the children's argument that the father can live on his own. The court's order was made by quoting from holy scriptures.

It is said in the Vedas and Upanishads that the father is equal to God. A son who does not look after his parents is forgetting his own duty. The Quran and the Bible teach that one should be merciful towards their parents. If the relatives or friends provide financial assistance to the elderly individual, that does not remove the responsibility of the children to assist their parent. The petitioner approached the High Court seeking help from his three sons from his first marriage. He said that he was unable to work due to his age and that he needed help from his well-off sons living in Kuwait. He divorced his first wife in 2013 by pronouncing talaq and is currently living with his second wife. The court observed that the petitioner's two sons are managers of a supermarket they jointly own, and one son is an employee of the Kuwait Oil Company. It was stated that since two of them earn more than one lakh rupees per month and one earns more than one and a half lakh rupees, it would not be difficult for them to assist their father.