Parents sue only child for not providing them with grandchildren — seek compensation of over $500k

An elderly couple from India sued their son and daughter-in-law because he could not provide grandchildren for them. Sanjiv Ranjan Prasad and his wife Sadhana Prasad, from Haridwar in Uttarakhand, India, cited many financial reasons for suing their only child. Their son got married in 2016 and according to Sanjiv, he "had hopes of having a grandchild." Six years have gone by and his son and daughter-in-law have not had a child yet.

Sanjiv claims that his daughter-in-law and her family have complete control over the couple's finances, which has reportedly prevented them from having a child, reports Unilad. 

Sanjiv And Sadhana are seeking compensation of about $ 645,900 if their son fails to provide them with a grandchild in the next year. In India, women are expected, and in some cases pushed, to have children within a few years following marriage. Most of the households in traditional India expect a male child from women to supposedly carry on their family's name further. This creates an uneven sex ratio in many parts of the country. According to the 2011 Census, the state of Haryana has the lowest ratio of females over males in the country.

However, according to Sanjiv, they did not care much about the gender of their grandchild. He told the ANI News Agency, "We didn't care about gender, just wanted a grandchild." He further added, "I gave my son all my money, got him trained in America. I don't have any money now. We have taken a loan from bank to build home. We're troubled financially& personally." 

Sanjiv further specified, "We have demanded Rs 2.5 cr each from both my son & daughter-in-law in our petition." They filed the petition in court on 8th May in which Sanjiv specified that he had approximately spent $258,200 to raise their son and it was more than they could afford. The petition further stated that Sanjiv gifted the couple a pricey car and even paid for their honeymoon in Thailand.

He said that his son, a professional airline pilot, relocated to Hyderabad, India, acquired a property in his wife's name, and stopped communicating with his parents. When Sanjiv pressed his son for a child, he claimed in the petition that the pair "pretended" to be separated since their occupations required them to live in different places.

Sanjiv and his wife are seeking compensation for financial and emotional losses, according to AK Srivastava, the lawyer representing them. He told ANI, "This case portrays the truth of society. We invest in our children, make them capable of working in good firms. Children owe their parents basic financial care." He also spoke to The Independent about the case, "The couple has the freedom to not give birth to a child, which is why we are asking to be compensated. The amount is just given the money Mr Prasad has spent on his son’s upbringing."

He added, "Such new cases are important as they lead to the formation of new laws." The case will be presented in court on 17th May.