KOCHI: The Kerala High Court has observed that a person who does not take care of his aged mother “cannot be called a human being.” Justice P. V. Kunhikrishnan made the remark while dismissing a petition filed by a Kollam native challenging a family court order directing him to pay his 100-year-old mother a monthly maintenance of Rs 2,000. The single bench said it was “shameful” that the son approached the court instead of providing maintenance to his mother.

The petitioner, Unnikrishnapillai (57) of Kizhakkenela, Kollam, had argued that his elder brother was behind the maintenance case, not his mother. He also claimed he was willing to look after her if she lived with him. The court rejected this argument, stating, “Caring for one’s mother is not a sacrifice, but a responsibility. Failing to do so is disgraceful.”

He further argued that he was not the only son and that his other siblings were also not providing maintenance. The court, however, observed, “A person who neglects his mother cannot be called human.”

The bench pointed out that as parents grow old, their interests and behaviour may change and they may become childlike. Children should show the same patience and compassion their mothers once showed them during childhood, the court noted.

In this case, the mother, now 100, had approached the family court seeking maintenance when she was 92. The court said such a situation should never have arisen, remarking that “a mother is the true home of her children, and at any age, everyone needs their mother. Justice Kunhikrishnan concluded the order by saying, “Seeing a son approach the court refusing to support his centenarian mother makes me ashamed to be part of such a society.”