The Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) has appointed a class-I medical officer as custodian in adherence to the directions issued by the Supreme Court (SC) for the submission of living wills. A living which is also referred to as an advance medical directive is a legal document moved by any citizen which provides instructions for medical care or for the termination of medical support, in certain circumstances.
As per the SC directives issued on 24, January, 2024, MBMC chief-Sanjay Katkar appointed medical officer Dr. Birappa Tirapanna as custodian for the safeguard of data related to living wills. The order was issued by additional municipal commissioner- Aniket Manorkar on 12, March, 2024.
The SC has cleared the hurdles for passive euthanasia by simplifying the process of creating a living will, while putting the obligation on the competent officer of civic bodies including-municipal corporations, municipal councils and gram panchayats to appoint a custodian for the implementation of the directives. Notably, any citizen wanting to create a living will has to notarize two copies of it.
While one copy remains with the person who is supposed to take decisions on the will maker’s behalf, the other has to be sent to the custodian appointed by the local civic body. The document has to be shown to the doctor by the proxy holder, who will then verify it with the custodian’s copy during the execution process of the will.
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The SC directives followed in response to a miscellaneous application (number 1699 of 2019) in the civil writ petition (number 215 of 2005) filed by Common Cause- registered society seeking directions to the state under article 21 of the constitution for adopting appropriate procedures to allow persons who were of deteriorated health or who were terminally ill to execute advance medical directives or living wills.
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