The Calcutta High Court points out the lacunae in Law, appoints son as guardian of a father in comatose condition by invoking the Writ Jurisdiction.

In a Writ Petition filed by a son to claim Guardianship of his father lying in a comatose condition the High Court pointed the legislative lacunae on the subject and observed that. 

"There is no statute in India which provides for appointment of guardian to take care of comatose persons or persons in a vegetative state. The statutes relating to mental health do not apply. The Guardians and Wards Act and similar statutes, on the other hand, deals with minors and dependents."

However, the Court added that this cannot be a reason to deny such patients their constitutional rights and observed that:

The fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution of India, in particular Article 21, which recognizes the right to life, includes the right to live with dignity. In order to confer such rights on the patient, it is required that his resources are appropriately channelized for his own treatment and well-being. Thus, the appropriate recourse for the petitioner is the one which has been adopted, that is, invocation of the jurisdiction of this court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India to ensure the right to live with dignity of the patient, for the protection of which the petitioner seeks to be appointed a guardian of the person and property of his father.

The Bench concluded

I part with the expectation that the Legislatures – both the Union and/or the States -shall immediately look into the issue of legislative vacuum in the field, repeatedly being pointed out by several High Courts, and enact an appropriate statute and/or pass proper guidelines for the purpose of looking after the person and property of comatose persons and the modalities regarding the same.