Life, Liberty And The End Of Pain: Passive Euthanasia On Trial
Sajal Veer, BA LLB (Hons.), Chanakya National Law University
ABSTRACT
Every individual in India has the right to life and personal liberty, and their life cannot be taken away except in accordance with the prescribed legal procedure. As one of the fundamental rights, Article 21 of the Indian Constitution guarantees the protection of life and personal liberty of the individual and ensures certain legal safeguards against arbitrary deprivation of life and liberty. But sometimes, the right to die becomes an essential part of respecting someone's dignity, personal autonomy and sanity of life. However, the debate around the legality of euthanasia in not new to the Indian legal system, many cases including Common cause v. Union of India, (2018) 5 SCC 1(India) and Aruna shanbaug v. Union of India, (2011) 4 SCC 454 (India) have somewhat established a rough framework for the Indian legislative system, but a concreate law regarding passive euthanasia still seems farfetched. The case of Harish Rana v. Union of India, 2026 SCC OnLine SC 358 (India) and the topic around Passive Euthanasia and the right to die with dignity compel us to accept the advancement of constitutional morality, amendment to Legal jurisprudence and also serve as a reminder for our legislative Bodies for urgent and immediate steps to deal with the matter of life and death”.
