Only The Spouse Or Children Of A Person In Coma Can Be Appointed As His Legal Guardians: Delhi HC [Read Judgment]

Delhi High Court has held that if a person is in coma, only the spouse or the children of that person can be appointed as a legal guardian, who would also have to disclose the details of the assets held by such patient. The Single Bench of Justice Rajiv Shakdher also noted that if a person in coma is abandoned by the family, then his next friend can be appointed as a legal guardian with the prior permission of the court. In the present case, the Petitioners were aggrieved by the fact that the SBI has not given them recourse to the Public Provident Fund account which was opened and maintained by their father during his lifetime, upon their mother Mrs. Saroj Sharma slipping into a comatose state. SBI had disputed the relief claimed by the Petitioners by citing its circular dated 05.12.2018 and the circular dated 19.11.2007, issued by the Reserve Bank of India. These circulars state mention that the petitioners are necessarily required to obtain a "guardianship certificate" from the competent court. It had also placed reliance on the following statutes to resist the demands made in the writ petition: The Guardians and Wards Act, 1890. The Mental Health Act, 1987 (repealed).The National Trust Act for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act, 1999. The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995. The Mental Healthcare Act, 2017. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. Therefore, the question before the court was whether the petitioners are required to obtain a guardianship certificate under the aforementioned statutes and/or circulars, as contended by the SBI before they can be permitted to operate the PPF Account maintained by their father with SBI? The court started its observations by analysing the provisions of the various statutes cited by SBI. With regards to the Guardianship Act, it was observed that the same would not apply to the present case as the Act does not cover persons who have attained majority. In terms of The National Trust Act for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act, 1999, the court noted that the sections of the said Act does not appear to cover a person, who is in comatose state. Further, such person is also not covered under the The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. Therefore, it was held, that the SBI's argument about the need for the Petitioners to obtain a guardianship certificate in order to seek relief, cannot be sustained. The court also appointed the Petitioners as the legal guardians of the person in the comatose state on a condition that the money which is there in that person's account will be used for her benefits. Petitioners are also directed to file a report in that behalf with the Registrar General of this court every six months. The court also observed that the Division Bench of Kerala High Court had framed certain guidelines in case with similar facts. Therefore, the same guidelines can be used as a framework for formulating guidelines that need to be applied in the National Capital Territory of Delhi till such time the legislative chasm is filled-up and a specific provision is made as to how guardians are to be appointed qua persons in comatose state.The following Guidelines were issued by the Kerala High Court in the Case;Petitioner/s seeking for appointment of Guardian to a person lying in comatose state shall disclose the particulars of the property, both movable and immovable, owned and possessed by the patient lying in comatose state.The condition of the person lying in comatose state shall be got ascertained by causing him to be examined by a duly constituted Medical Board, of whom one shall definitely be a qualified NeurologistA simultaneous visit of the person lying in comatose state, at his residence, shall be caused to be made through the Revenue authorities, not below the rank of a Tahsildar and a report shall be procured as to all the relevant facts and figures, including the particulars of the close relatives, their financial conditions and such other aspects.The person seeking appointment as Guardian of a person lying in comatose state shall be a close relative (spouse or children) and all the persons to be classified as legal heirs in the due course shall be in the party array. In the absence of the suitable close relative, a public official such as 'Social Welfare officer' can be sought to be appointed as a Guardian to the person lying in 'comatose state'.The person applying for appointment as Guardian shall be one who is legally competent to be appointed as a Guardian.The appointment of a Guardian as above shall only be in respect of the specific properties and bank accounts/such other properties of the person lying in comatose state; to be indicated in ...

Only The Spouse Or Children Of A Person In Coma Can Be Appointed As His Legal Guardians: Delhi HC [Read Judgment]

Karan Tripathi

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