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Section 31: Power of Central Government to review

Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 2007
Section 30 All 32 Sections of Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 Section 32

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 31

Section 31 authorizes the Central Government to conduct comprehensive periodic reviews and evaluations of the implementation of the Senior Citizens Act by State Governments.

  • Central Review & Evaluation: The Central Government may make periodic reviews and monitor the progress of the implementation of the Act by the State Governments.
  • National Performance Monitoring: Enables the Central Government to evaluate statistics regarding maintenance disposal rates, old age home infrastructure, and police cell responsiveness across States.
  • Data-Driven Policy Refinement: Provides the statistical and empirical foundation for legislative amendments and budgetary allocations.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Ashwani Kumar v. Union of India (2019) 2 SCC 636: The Supreme Court directed the Union of India to conduct comprehensive performance audits under Section 31 to monitor State compliance with old age home mandates.
  • Sunny Paul v. State (NCT of Delhi) 2018 SCC OnLine Del 11640: Noted that periodic review under Section 31 is essential to ensure that social welfare legislation does not become a dead letter.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

Rely on Section 31 review reports and data published by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in High Court writ petitions to establish systemic failure of local district administrations to implement the Act.

Section 30 All 32 Sections of Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 Section 32