Supreme Court of India approved passive euthanasia for the first time

Supreme Court of India approved passive euthanasia for the first time

¨     Supreme Court of India approved passive euthanasia for the first time.

¨     The case involved a patient who had been in a coma for more than 12 years.

¨     The court granted permission to remove artificial life-support systems.

¨  Passive euthanasia means allowing a patient to die by withholding life-sustaining treatment.

¨ The patient, Harish Rana, was a resident of Ghaziabad. He was a student at Punjab University.

¨     In 2013, he fell from the fourth floor of his paying-guest accommodation.

¨     Since then, he has been in a persistent vegetative state.

¨     The bench comprised of J.B. Pardiwala and K.V. Viswanathan.

¨     They directed the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, to admit him to palliative care.

¨     The court emphasized that the removal of treatment must be carefully planned.

¨     It emphasized that the patient's dignity must be maintained throughout the process.

¨   This decision is based on the 2018 Common Cause v. Union of India decision. That decision recognized passive euthanasia as a fundamental right.

¨     It also recognized the right to die with dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

¨     In 2023, a five-judge Constitution bench amended these guidelines.

¨   The amended guidelines made it easier to approve passive euthanasia for terminally ill patients.