LEGAL DIMENSIONS FOR THE WELFARE OF THE SENIOR CITIZEN: A LEGITIMATE LANDSCAPE

Abstract

Personal autonomy or right to self-determination of the elderly patient should be respected and the right of personal liberty of the patient prevails over anything else. Labelling the incapacity of the elderly not only damages the reputation of the individuals in the eyes of society but intensely affects their self-conception in several ways and it violates the right to live with pride enshrined in the Indian constitution. A sound mind is necessary to give valid assent to medical practitioners for any treatment, when the capacity of the adult in treatment is subjected to question no statutory provisions are available in India and no clarity on these questions is established by Indian courts. Unlike the West, the Indian courts have never faced any cases where an adult refuses treatment in an emergency. The statement of personal liberty under Art 21 of the Indian constitution has great generosity of rights, including the right to live with dignity in addition to this the connection between the patient and his medical professional is a contract giving rise to contractual obligations. Therefore, there are no established rules or guidelines in India in situations where the patient is unable to give consent on their own. If such a circumstance arises, the treating physician may continue treatment with the approval of the attendant or any relatives of the patient. The situation has been examined in Muthu Krishnan v. Rajyalakshmi, the court held that the unambiguous consent of the wife was deemed satisfactory the objective of any regulations with which the hospital was required to comply. Thus, the paper aims to address the consent issues that underpin the law and looks into sociological, philosophical, and medical literature close to the subject. The paper tries to analyse the broader social meanings attached to old age and the legal dimension regarding the capacity and consent of elderly people by drawing a comparative jurisprudence between common law and US legal systems regarding the capacity of elderly people to consent to medical treatments.