Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan tabled the Keralam Senior Citizens (Care and Protection of Rights) Bill, 2026 before the state legislature on Tuesday, a draft that — if passed — would position Kerala as the first state in the country to enact a dedicated legal framework of this kind for older residents.
Posting on X, Satheesan described the measure as unprecedented at the national level and as a pledge delivered by the UDF government. The proposed legislation outlines protections for older residents alongside penalties, including imprisonment and fines, for conduct such as mistreating elderly persons, unlawfully seizing their property, or operating elderly care centres without registration.
Introducing the bill before the legislature, Satheesan described the measure as one that held personal resonance for him, and argued that, if enacted, Kerala could serve as a model for other regions globally in safeguarding the welfare of elderly citizens, stressing that no one within that demographic should face isolation or a lack of support. He went on to argue that how readily a community tends to its elderly reflects the depth of the values that community actually holds.
The legislation, Satheesan explained, was designed to uphold the welfare and personal dignity of older citizens. The Chief Minister indicated that the proposed legislation was designed to guarantee older people receive proper care, respect, and dignity.
Among the cases he drew attention to were reports of adult children who had allegedly seized their elderly parents' assets before leaving them behind at pilgrimage sites such as Guruvayoor or at Kanyakumari.
Under the draft bill, a unified legal structure would govern residential care facilities for older adults, with provisions aimed at curbing mistreatment and financial exploitation while broadening their reach to medical services, pension entitlements, legal support, and other day-to-day necessities. Aged-care facilities would be brought into a formal licensing and oversight structure under the proposed framework, with performance standards and financial transparency requirements applied across the sector.
A dedicated State Senior Citizens Protection Unit would be established under the Bill alongside district-level forums and units tasked with overseeing how care facilities operate, tracking compliance with the legislation, and handling grievances tied to neglect, abuse, and exploitation of older people.
Under its terms, harm covered by the law spans a wide spectrum — from physical injury and psychological damage through to verbal mistreatment, financial exploitation, sexual abuse, neglect of a person's basic needs, and the withholding of goods or services they require.
Under the proposed law, older adults would be supported in remaining at home within their families and communities, with placement in residential care facilities considered only when no other arrangement proves workable.
Facilities spanning elderly residential care, day programmes, respite services, hospices, home-based care agencies, and training centres for caregivers would all be required to enrol with the bodies nominated under the draft legislation. Each certificate of registration would carry a four-year lifespan, after which holders would need to apply for renewal.
Under the proposed framework, inspectors would gain the power to visit premises, review complaints lodged against them, and pursue enforcement measures where facilities lack proper registration or fall short of the required standards. Facilities that have not completed registration stand to face financial or administrative penalties, and those whose applications are turned away may be directed to shut down, with steps taken to place their residents into appropriate rehabilitation programmes.
Under the proposed legislation, anyone who sets up or runs a care centre without first securing registration — or who continues operating one after its certificate has lapsed or been withdrawn — faces a jail term of up to one year, a monetary penalty of up to Rs 25,000, or a combination of both.
Under the legislation, anyone found to have deliberately blocked its enforcement — or to have assisted, encouraged, or prompted such interference — faces a prison term of up to two years alongside a monetary penalty not exceeding Rs 25,000. Under the proposed provision, that type of behaviour would constitute a violation of protections afforded to older members of the community.
Under the proposed provisions, any individual entrusted with running a care facility for older adults who unlawfully takes hold of a resident's belongings could face a custodial term of as long as three years alongside a monetary penalty reaching Rs 50,000. Under the proposed legislation, anyone found to have inflicted physical or psychological harm on an elderly person — whether a family member, relative, legal heir, care-centre operator or staff member, or an appointed caregiver — could face a custodial term of up to three years alongside a financial penalty not exceeding Rs 50,000.
Provisions within the bill would raise both the qualifications expected of caregivers and the standards governing their professional conduct. Under the proposed legislation, home-care agencies would face a phased credentialling timetable — a quarter of their workforce holding formal certification by the second year after enactment, three-fifths by the third year, and every caregiver fully credentialled no later than year four.
Older adults stand to gain new protections against online fraud and financial exploitation under provisions laid out in the Bill. Under the proposed framework, dedicated cybercrime divisions within law enforcement would be obligated to place such complaints at the top of their caseloads, and banks and other financial bodies would face new requirements to put stronger protective measures in place for affected customers.
Affordable care, legal support, and assistive devices would be made available under the plan, alongside efforts to shape public spaces around the needs of older people. Older residents would gain easier pathways into online services, while in-person and paper-based options remain on offer for those who prefer them.
Under the draft bill, a dedicated State Contingency Fund would be created to support the needs of older residents. According to the financial memorandum, setting up the fund would draw Rs 25 lakh each year from the State's Consolidated Fund as an ongoing operational cost. Outlays tied to establishing the protection units are not expected to carry any notable one-off costs, given that current infrastructure will be drawn on wherever practicable.
Drafted to fill a gap left by the expansion of home-care agencies operating without unified oversight, the Bill targets a set of longstanding concerns about how those services are regulated. Protections spanning financial stability, healthcare access, housing, and legal rights form the core of what the measure seeks to deliver for older people, alongside provisions guarding against neglect, exploitation, and abuse.
Whether other states would adopt the legislation as a template remains contingent on its passage and Kerala's ability to demonstrate its workability in practice.
