Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Friday directed the Union government; the state government and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to file their replies to a petition by a city doctor seeking direction to the authorities to appoint a custodian to safeguard the “living wills”.
A living will is a written, legal document that spells out medical treatments one would and would not want to be used to keep one alive, as well as one's preferences for other medical decisions, such as pain management or organ donation.
The PIL filed by Dr Nikhil Datar, a gynaecologist and a judicial activist, seeks implementation of the Supreme Court (SC) directive which simplified the guidelines of passive euthanasia and also sought that the authorities in the state government and the BMC be directed to appoint a custodian for the same.
RTI Reveals No Official Appointed For The Same
During the hearing on Friday, Datar told a division bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Arif Doctor that he has learnt through the Right To Information that no such authority has been appointed by the state or the BMC.
He emphasised that his PIL is to give effect to SC order which recognised the “right to die by dignity”.
Noting that it was a good public cause, the bench said that there is a need to set up some office or appoint a person for the same.
Datar said that he has also made the Ministry of Information and Technology as a respondent to the PIL since they have digi-lockers where such living wills can be stored and accessed when required.
“The executor of the living will can choose to save the same in a digital record. The Ministry of IT rurns a digi-locker. So whenever it (living will) needs to be shown, they can help,” Datar said.
According to Datar’s plea, he notarized his own living will on February 24, 2023, and filed the plea to raise awareness about living wills.
Plea Seeks Appointment Of Custodian
The PIL highlights ambiguity surrounding the custodian responsible for safeguarding these important documents within the local administration.
The plea urges the court to direct the local administration to promptly appoint a custodian. It also seeks that the court direct the state and local bodies to create awareness among the public, healthcare professionals, and other stakeholders to prevent citizens from encountering issues while notarising their wills due to a lack of awareness.
