Setback for great-grandson of Frontier Gandhi in Bombay high court – Times of India

MUMBAI: In a setback for the great-grandson of ‘Frontier Gandhi’ Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, the Bombay high court refused to grant any relief on his plea to appoint him the legal guardian of his ailing aunt and to allow him to take her to Pakistan to be with her family.
“We are not inclined to grant any interim relief,” said a bench of Justice K K Tated and Justice Prithviraj Chavan on Friday, expressing a prima facie view that Mashal Khan can go before the committee under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
A resident of Breach Candy, India-born Zarin Ghani Walsh (76) is a Canadian national and has resided in India since 1983. She is the daughter of Frontier Gandhi’s eldest son.
Mashal (40) is the son of her late brother. In February, the high court was informed that she had Alzheimer’s disease and dementia and was “virtually in a vegetative state”. On August 4, Mashal’s advocate, Mayur Khandeparkar, said that an air bubble had again opened between India and Dubai and she could be taken from Dubai to Pakistan.
The Centre’s reply, submitted by its advocate Advait Sethna, said Mashal may approach the designated authority under the RPWD Act for appointment as guardian under Section 14 (provision for guardianship) and other reliefs.
Khandeparkar said that the Centre’s stand was not correct. “I will not get covered under Section 14 at all. The act contemplates limited disabilities and lists 21 ailments. I (Walsh) don’t feature under any one,” he said.
The judges pointed to Mashal’s petition. “It is your own pleading that she is mentally and physically unstable and cannot take decisions. You have to go before the committee (authority),” said Justice Tated.
Khandeparkar said Walsh suffered from “old age related problems”. He said that while the state’s anxiety was that she would be taken out of Indian territory, Mashal was willing to subject himself to whatever terms. “She needs to be looked after day to day. He is around and in a position to look after her. Ultimately, we are concerned about her frail state of health,” he said.
But the judges were not inclined to grant interim relief and posted the matter for further hearing on October 4.