Children ordered to take custody of elderly mother abandoned at private hospital in Kozhikode

Kozhikode: The District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) has directed the children of a 70-year-old woman to take full responsibility for her care, weeks after she was left stranded at a private hospital despite being medically cleared for discharge.

The elderly woman, identified as Shobha, a resident of Anakkulam in Koyilandy, was admitted to the PVS Sunrise Hospital in Kozhikode on October 12 by her son, Sreejith, suffering from a severely infected wound on her right foot.

Although doctors advised her discharge on October 24, neither her children nor her business manager returned to collect her. The prolonged abandonment prompted hospital management to lodge formal complaints with both the District Collector and local police. Following intervention from the District Collectorate, the Social Justice Department, and the DLSA, her son and the manager finally completed the discharge formalities on November 3.

Taking suo motu cognisance of the matter following media reports, DLSA Secretary and Senior Division Civil Judge M.C. Biju issued a binding order mandating that her children assume her immediate care and protection.

During earlier inquiries, the authority revealed that the manager, identified as Suresh Babu, had sold land registered in Shobha's name without transferring the proceeds to her. Addressing the financial exploitation, the DLSA ordered that the ₹50 lakh realised from the property sale be deposited into a joint bank account opened in the names of Shobha and her three children.

At a hearing conducted on Monday, Shobha’s son Sreejith, daughter Swapna, manager Suresh Babu, the Chemancheri Village Officer, and Station House Officers from the Chevayoor and Town police stations appeared in person. Her second son, Ranjith, who resides abroad, attended proceedings via video conference.

Shobha is currently undergoing further medical treatment at the Government Medical College Hospital in Kozhikode.