The Supreme Court of India announced on Monday that it will deliberate on a plea concerning the right to passive euthanasia for rabies patients in two weeks. This significant legal issue was presented before a bench comprising Justices B R Gavai and K Vinod Chandran.
The plea, initiated by the NGO All Creatures Great and Small, challenges a decision made by the Delhi High Court in July 2019, which declined to categorize rabies as an exceptional disease warranting the option of “death with dignity” for sufferers. In response to the NGO’s petition filed in 2019, the Supreme Court had previously issued notices to the Centre and other relevant parties in January 2020, requesting their input on the matter.
During the latest hearing, the petitioner’s counsel referenced a counter-affidavit filed by the Centre in 2018 before the High Court, as the justices scheduled the next session for a non-miscellaneous day after two weeks.
The NGO’s legal motion is pushing for the establishment of a protocol that would permit rabies patients or their guardians to choose passive euthanasia with the assistance of physicians. This plea gains context from a landmark ruling on March 9, 2018, by a five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court, which affirmed the right to life as inclusive of the right to die. This ruling legalized passive euthanasia, introducing the concept of a “living will” for terminally ill patients or those in a persistent vegetative state without prospects of recovery, allowing them to refuse medical treatment or life support, thereby enabling a dignified end.
Represented by senior advocate Sonia Mathur and advocate Noor Rampal, the NGO argues for an exception specifically for rabies patients, citing the disease’s 100% fatality rate and the exceptionally severe and restrictive symptoms sufferers endure. According to the plea, the agonizing nature of rabies, which often necessitates patients to be restrained in their beds, severely compromises their dignity and personal freedom.
