Justice MS Sonak of Bombay High Court becomes first person in Goa to register 'Living Will'

Justice MS Sonak, the senior most presiding judge of Bombay High Court at Goa, registered his “living will” on May 31 at an Indian Medical Association event, thereby becoming the first person to register such a will in the coastal State. .A living will/advance directive is a document that persons with deteriorating health or the terminally ill can execute in advance, through which they can choose not to remain in a vegetative state with life support system if they enter into a state when it will not be possible for them to express their wishesThis document could then be presented to a hospital for appropriate action in the event the executant’s health worsens..The registration of Justice Sonak's will took place publicly at an event organised by the Goa branch of IMA to release a booklet on the Advanced Medical Directives which the State of Goa operationalised, thereby becoming the first State in India to do so.“This is a momentous occasion. Goa is the first state which has formalised to some extent the implementation of the directives issued by the Supreme Court of India. Let us be fair that all of us have these thoughts it is not just the people of Goa, but people all over. But there is always a difference between having good thoughts and taking the first steps to implement them,” the judge said at the event..Justice Sonak registered his ‘living will’ at the event admittedly to set an example for the rest of the State on how an AMD can be made.His witnesses were Registrar Dinesh Shetty and IMA Goa President Dr Sandesh Chodankar. A copy of his will was also handed over to his family doctor, Dr. Shekhar Salkar, former chairman of Goa Medical Council..In 2018, the Supreme Court had recognised and given sanction to passive Euthanasia and living will/ advance directive.The Supreme Court recognized living wills of terminally ill patients who could go into permanent vegetative state and issued guidelines for regulating this procedure.It laid down guidelines governing execution and enforcement of advance directive, as well as the procedure to be followed for passive Euthanasia in case there is no living will/advance directive.The guidelines pertained to questions such as who would execute the living will, and the process by which approval could be granted by the medical board. The apex court also modified its 2018 judgment to do away with the role of judicial magistrates giving sanction and validity to the living will/ advance directive executed by a person..These guidelines by the apex court would be in force till the parliament passes a legislation on the subject. Goa became the first State to implement the guidelines which it did within 45 days.The procedure that will be followed in Goa is:A person has to write down their “wishes” and sign in the presence of two witnesses;He/ she has to get the document attested before a gazetted officer or notary public;The will has to be deposited with the State Revenue Department Office;The officers will collect all such wills and keep them with the Additional District Collectors’ Office.