The Court clarified the interpretation of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, emphasizing the broader categorization of disabilities and the duty of the District Collector to consider medical reports in guardianship decisions.

JUDGMENT

(Prayer : Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, praying to issue a Writ of Declaration to declare the petitioner Maya (alias) Maya Vijayamma as the guardian of her husband Mr.N.Krishnan Nair who is in a comatosa condition, presently in a vegetative state of mind to protect his interest, to collect income, liabilities, backwages, deposits, administer his bank accounts, investments etc., and in the event of necessity to manage the immovable properties of land and building bearing Plot No.19 to an extent of one ground (2400 square feet) in No.8, Ayyancheri Village, comprised in Survey No.6/2, Chengalpet Taluk, then Chengai Anna District presently Chengalpet District and Kattankulathur Panchayat Union limits was approved as reference No.C.S.A.R./D.T.C.P 86-120 L.P.95 within the Registration District of Madras South and Sub Registration District of Guduvancheri, and land and building being house sit in Kolathuvancheri Village, Sriperumbudur Taluk, now Kanchipuram District comprised in Survey No.15 part, to an extent of 6,540 sq.ft. within Sub Registration District of Saidapet and Registration District of South Madras standing in her husband Mr.Krishnan Nair and to use the income to her husband and family welfare expenses.)

The petitioner''s husband is in comatose stage. Therefore, she requires herself to be appointed as the guardian for her husband under Section 58 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

2. When the matter came up before this Court on 10.08.2023, the learned Additional Government Pleader appearing on behalf of the respondents submitted that under the National Trust Act, and Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, the Collector is empowered to grant guardianship only for persons with disability, and that this is limited to cases of autism, cerebral palsy, mental retardation or a combination of any two or more such conditions, and includes a person suffering from severe multiple disabilities. He also added that the second respondent / District Collector may not be able to take a call unless a report is made available by a medical team.

3. This Court required the Directorate of Medical Education to constitute a team of doctors to examine the husband of the petitioner and to advise the District Collector, so as to enable him to take a decision.

4. Pursuant to the order of this Court, the Director of Medical Education and Research also required the Director, Institute of Neurology , Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, Chennai to conduct medical inspection of the petitioner''s husband and submit a report. The Director Incharge and Professor, Institute of Neurology, Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, Chennai has examined the petitioner''s husband with a team of doctors and submitted a medical report dated 14.08.2023, a copy of which is also produced before the Court, and the report reads as below :

"Patient was apparently normal till December 2022. First, he developed memory disturbance in the form of forgetting things, misplacing objects and searching for objects. Subsequently, he developed behavioural symptoms, in the form of excessive anger with anger outbursts. Later, patient also developed wandering behaviour, visual hallucinations and excessive craving for sweets. All his memory disturbances were progressive with a history of decreased sleep and unconcerned micturition since March 2023. He was unable to do his day to day activities and is completely bed ridden for the past three months. For past one and half months, he has difficulty in recognising his family members and speaks only one or two words with no appropriate response to questions. He also has tremulousness in both upper limbs without any history of seizure or head injury or any medical illnesses. For the above symptoms, patient was evaluated in Amritha Institute of Medical Sciences from 10/04/2023 to 15/04/2023, where he was diagnosed to have probable Creutzfeldt-Jakob di