High Court asks the Centre and the Reserve Bank how dependants can draw on a coma patient's savings account

20 October 2026

A bench of Justice Ajit Kumar and Justice Garima Prashad of the Allahabad High Court directed the Union Government and the Reserve Bank of India to file affidavits stating whether they have proposals or have framed guidelines for releasing money from the savings account of a person in a comatose state to that person's dependants. The court observed that such dependants can be absolutely remediless because they may lack funds for hospital costs and household needs. The petition was filed by Parveen Jahan, whose husband was in a comatose state and who died while the petition was pending. The court directed the petitioner to implead the Reserve Bank through its Executive Director (Banking Regulation) and the Union of India through the Secretary, Ministry of Finance, and said it may summon the responsible officers if the Reserve Bank fails to file its affidavit. The bench suggested that the Uttar Pradesh Government consider implementing the guidelines framed in Shobha Gopalakrishnan v. State of Kerala, and directed the Chief Secretary to propose a concrete and substantial solution at the State level or appear personally. The court referred to Uma Mittal and Others v. Union of India and Others, in which the Central Government was directed to enact legislation on appointing a guardian for a person in a vegetative state. The next hearing is on 6 November.