Concept of advanced medical directives in the Indian scenario

The review paper titled “Concept of advanced medical directives in Indian scenario” was published in July-Dec 2022, in which the need to amend the laws relating to the Advanced Medical Directives (AMDs) was discussed in detail, and the conclusion and suggestions were given. This has attracted the attention of law enforcement agencies. A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court has agreed to pass directions to ease and simplify the procedures for framing the AMDs. A bench comprising Justice KM Joseph, Justice Ajay Rastogi, Justice Aniruddha Bose, Justice Hrishikesh Roy and Justice CT Ravikumar was considering an application filed by the Indian Council of Critical Care Medicine seeking modifications in the guidelines for Living Will/AMD as its previous directions have become unworkable. The Supreme Court has eased the norms for AMDs about the requirements for the constitution of the medical boards, the experience of the doctors, and the attestation of the AMDs. These were more or less the suggestions and conclusions given in the review article published in your journal. The final verdict of the Supreme Court was delivered on January 24, 2023.