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Wife of man in coma can sell his assets: Bombay HC
The Bombay high court has appointed a Mumbai-based doctor as the guardian and manager of properties of her husband, a pathologist, who has been in a coma since 2013.
Last month, following the court's directions, the dean of Nair hospital appointed a team of neurological experts to evaluate the condition of the man. The report placed before the court said that the patient was in a "persistent vegetative state/minimally conscious state, is bedridden, needs 24x7 assistance for his basic daily needs and cannot take any rational decisions on his own".
In the plea, filed through advocate Siddhartha Ronghe, the woman said that there were residential and commercial properties in his name in Dahisar and Bhayander as well as bank and demat accounts. Selling off some of the properties would help the family, including their two college-going children, move from their small flat in Dahisar to a bigger one with an elevator.
"The medical opinion supports the case of the woman that since 2013, her husband is in a bedridden state and is not able to take decisions on his own," noted the court. "It is obvious that considering the health condition of the husband, he will require a separate room as he needs assistance 24x7. Therefore, the case made out by the petitioner that by selling the immovable properties held by her husband, she wants to purchase a larger premises for residence having all proper facilities deserves to be accepted," said the bench. The court allowed her to manage her husband's bank accounts and sell his properties for the best. A report about the sale would have to be filed with the court, the judges said, beside asking the woman to make a donation of a reasonable amount of money to Nair hospital.
The woman had approached the high court, as there were no provisions in Indian law, including under the Guardians and Wards Act or the Mental Health Care Act, to deal with the case of appointing a guardian for a person who is in coma. The bench said that while the woman could have approached the civil court for relief, her husband's condition was not in dispute and the couple's children had filed affidavits in favour of their mother. "Considering these peculiar facts, it will be unjust to direct the woman to take recourse to a remedy before the civil court especially when we are dealing with a case where the facts are not in dispute," the high court said.
The woman's husband had lost his consciousness as a result of pontine (intra-cranial) haemorrhage and went into a coma in September 2013. She filed the petition in 2017, urging the high court to appoint her as her husband's guardian.
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