Indian couple longing for grandchild sues son, his wife

NEW DELHI >> A retired Indian couple is suing their son and daughter-in-law, demanding that they produce a grandchild within a year or pay them 50 million rupees ($675,000).

Sanjeev Ranjan Prasad, a 61-year-old retired government officer, said it was an emotional and sensitive issue for him and his wife, Sadhana Prasad, and they cannot wait any longer. His son, a pilot, was married six years ago.

“We want a grandson or a granddaughter within a year or compensation, because I have spent my life’s earnings on my son’s education,” Prasad told reporters on Thursday.

Prasad said he spent 3.5 million rupees ($47,300) for his son’s pilot training in the United States.

“The main issue is that at this age we need a grandchild, but these people (my son and daughter-in-law) have an attitude that they don’t think about us,” Prasad said.

“We got him married in the hope we would have the pleasure of becoming grandparents. It has been six years since their marriage,” Prasad said. “It feels as if despite having everything we have nothing.”

The court accepted their petition and scheduled it for a hearing on Monday in Haridwar, a city in northern Uttarakhand state, media reports said.

The son and daughter-in-law could not be reached for comment.

Prasad said he and his wife love children.

“We are not getting love and affection from where we want it the most,” he said. “I feel very unlucky.”