Kerala High Court directs Kochi Municipal Corporation to appoint custodian of living wills

The Kerala High Court on Monday (December 2) directed the Kochi Municipal Corporation to nominate a competent officer to serve as the custodian of living wills within a week to enable a retired doctor to execute her living will [Martha Jacob v State of Kerala & ors]..The interim order was passed on a plea by a 70-year-old retired doctor (petitioner) who had raised a grievance that the Kochi Corporation's failure to appoint such a custodian was hindering the execution of her advanced directives/ living will.Justice CS Dias found that the petitioner had established a prima facie case for urgent action when it came to appointing a custodian to verify her advanced directives or living will."I am satisfied that the petitioner has made out a prima facie case for one an ad-interim order. Hence, I am of the view that the 2nd respondent (Kochi Corporation) is to be directed to forthwith nominate a competent officer, to enable the petitioner to deposit Ext.P2 living will with the said officer. In the result, the 2nd respondent is directed to nominate a competent officer within a week from today," the Court ordered. .The Court was considering a plea filed by Dr Martha Jacob, who had executed a living will in September 2023, after suffering a stroke in May 2023.Bedridden after suffering the stroke and highly dependent on caregivers, Dr Jacob anticipated that she could lose her decision-making capacity in the future. Therefore, she had sought to put in place a living will to outline her end-of-life care.A living will, or advance directive, is a document allowing people with declining health to specify their medical treatment preferences for a time when they cannot make decisions. It enables individuals to decline life support in a vegetative state, guiding hospitals on appropriate actions if their health worsens.In 2018, the Supreme Court upheld the validity of living wills in Common Cause v Union Of India, recognising the right to die with dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution. The top court further issued guidelines for the execution of living wills, in which it also said that a copy of the living will has to be handed over local authorities, who should nominate a competent official to be the custodian of the said document..In her petition before the Kerala High Court, Dr. Martha Jacob pointed out that without such verification by local authorities through a custodian, it is not possible for even a doctor to execute a patient's living will during medical emergencies.Apart from calling for a custodian to be appointed for Kochi, the petitioner has also urged the Court to direct the State to ensure that such custodians are nominated by all local bodies in Kerala..Considering the serious medical condition of the petitioner, the Court directed the Kochi Corporation to nominate a custodian within one week and allowed her to deposit her living will with the officer so appointed. The matter has been posted for further hearing on January 7, 2025..The petition was filed through advocates Jikku Seban George, Deepti Susan George, and Babitha Babu..[Read Order]