Open Access Research Article

THE DOCTRINE OF INFORMED CONSENT IN INDIAN HEALTH LAW: FROM PATERNALISM TO AUTONOMY AND THE CHALLENGE OF AI-ASSISTED MEDICAL DECISION-MAKING

Author(s):
JAHNAVI TIWARI PRIYAVARDHAN BALOT YUKTA CHANDA
Journal IJLRA
ISSN 2582-6433
Access Open Access
Volume 3
Issue 7
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Abstract

Informed consent is the legal and ethical hinge on which the modern doctor–patient relationship turns. In India, however, the doctrine has developed unevenly: it is scattered across the criminal law, the law of contract and tort, consumer protection jurisprudence, professional regulations and a growing body of special statutes, without any unifying legislative statement. The Supreme Court's decision in Samira Kohli v Dr Prabha Manchanda (2008) gave the doctrine its first authoritative articulation, but deliberately rejected the patient-centred standard of disclosure adopted in the United States and, later, in the United Kingdom in Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board (2015), preferring a 'real consent' standard anchored in professional practice and Indian social conditions. This paper argues that the constitutional turn in Indian rights jurisprudence-particularly the recognition of decisional autonomy, bodily integrity and dignity as facets of Article 21 in Justice KS Puttaswamy v Union of India (2017) and Common Cause v Union of India (2018)-has rendered the Samira Kohli standard doctrinally unstable. Tracing the doctrine from its paternalistic origins through its statutory, judicial and constitutional development, and comparing it with the English, American and Australian positions, the paper contends that Indian law should now adopt a materiality-based, patient-centred standard of disclosure. It further examines how the integration of artificial intelligence into clinical diagnosis and treatment tests the doctrine's capacity to protect patient autonomy, and proposes a calibrated duty to disclose material AI involvement. The paper concludes with concrete legislative and regulatory recommendations, including a codified patients' rights framework.

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Authors: JAHNAVI TIWARI, PRIYAVARDHAN BALOT & YUKTA CHANDARegistration ID: 1013327 | Published Paper ID: IJLRA13327, IJLRA13328 & IJLRA13329Year: Oct-2026 | Volume: 3 | Issue: 7Approved ISSN: 2582-6433 | Country: Delhi, IndiaPage No.: 787- 811

Article Information

THE DOCTRINE OF INFORMED CONSENT IN INDIAN HEALTH LAW: FROM PATERNALISM TO AUTONOMY AND THE CHALLENGE OF AI-ASSISTED MEDICAL DECISION-MAKING

Authors: JAHNAVI TIWARI, PRIYAVARDHAN BALOT, YUKTA CHANDA

  • Journal IJLRA
  • ISSN 2582-6433
  • Volume 3
  • Issue 7
Citation Download Paper Full Details Search on Google Search on Google Scholar

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International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis

  • AbbreviationIJLRA
  • ISSN2582-6433
  • AccessOpen Access
  • LicenseCC 4.0

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