How Delhi High Court used 'parens patriae' powers to appoint wife as legal guardian of comatose man

Delhi High Court

• Delhi High Court appoints wife as legal guardian for husband in vegetative state
• Wife granted authority over husband's medical care, finances, and property
• Court used parens patriae to protect incapacitated individual's interests

Did our AI summary help?

Invoking its extraordinary jurisdiction to protect the interests of an incapacitated individual, the Delhi High Court has appointed a woman as the legal guardian of her husband, who has been in a persistent vegetative or comatose state for nearly a year due to a serious medical condition.

The order, passed on December 24 by Justice Sachin Datta, grants the wife the authority to act on behalf of her husband in matters concerning his medical care, finances and property. The court exercised its “parens patriae” powers, a doctrine that allows constitutional courts to step in to safeguard those unable to take decisions for themselves.

According to the court, the material placed on record made it clear that the man was “unequivocally established” to be in a vegetative and comatose condition, rendering him incapable of making any independent decisions or carrying out activities. In such circumstances, the judge observed, the welfare of the individual required that a legal guardian be appointed.

The woman had approached the court stating that her husband suffered an intracranial haemorrhage, or bleeding inside the skull, in February last year, after which he slipped into a persistent vegetative state. She sought guardianship over all aspects of his life, including matters related to his estate, movable and immovable assets, financial affairs and social security benefits, so that she could meet his ongoing medical needs and related expenses.

The high court took note of a medical report placed before it, which assessed the husband as being 100 per cent disabled. Justice Datta also referred to a report submitted by the sub-divisional magistrate, which, the court said, “clearly establishes the veracity of assertions made by the petitioner in the present petition and opines that nothing adverse or contrary to the record has been found.”

The court further recorded that the couple’s two children had filed affidavits expressing that they had no objection to their mother being appointed as the legal guardian of their father.

While explaining the legal basis for the decision, the court referred to the Supreme Court’s position that the parens patriae doctrine can be invoked “to meet the ends of justice” in exceptional cases, particularly where the person concerned is not mentally or physically capable of taking decisions and there is no existing parent or legally appointed guardian.

Justice Datta also pointed out that the Delhi High Court has, in a series of earlier decisions, used this jurisdiction to appoint a spouse or legal heir as guardian in similar situations. He cited a 2023 judgment in which the court had acknowledged a legal vacuum regarding the appointment of guardians for individuals in a vegetative or comatose state.

By appointing the wife as the legal guardian, the court granted her the authority to make decisions relating to medical treatment, caretaking, daily expenses, finances and the management and use of her husband’s assets. It clarified that she would be free to deal with both movable and immovable property strictly for meeting his medical and daily requirements.