Right to Die

The passive euthanasia Supreme Court judgment, India Harish Rana case, explains when life-sustaining treatment, such as CANH, may be withdrawn for patients in a permanent vegetative state under Article 21.

The Supreme Court’s landmark ruling on Passive Euthanasia in India marks a shift toward compassion. By allowing the withdrawal of life support, the Court upholds the right to die with dignity under Article 21, urging clear laws to bridge medical ethics and the legal reality of living wills.

A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court has reserved judgment in a sensitive case involving withdrawal of life support, placing passive euthanasia in India once again at the centre of constitutional debate on the right to life and the right to die with dignity.