No One Can Administer Lethal Drugs For Mercy Killing, Even For Pain Relief: Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court declined to issue an order to establish a medical board to evaluate the possibility of euthanizing a man who has been in a permanent vegetative state for over a decade. The case involved a plea by 30-year-old petitioner’s parents seeking legal direction for a medical board to assess his health condition with regard to administering euthanasia.
A Bench of Justice Subramonium Prasad noted that the petitioner is not being kept alive through mechanical means and is capable of sustaining himself without additional external aid. The Court added, “The Petitioner is thus living and no one, including a physician, is permitted to cause death of another person by administering any lethal drug, even if the objective is to relieve the patient from pain and suffering.”
Advocate Neeraj Gupta appeared for the Petitioner and Advocate Ripu Daman Bhardwaj appeared for the Respondents.
The Court acknowledged the plight of his parents, who are elderly and unable to care for him, given his prolonged state of incapacity since sustaining severe head injuries from a fall in 2013. The Court said, “While the Court sympathises with the parents, as the Petitioner is not terminally ill, this Court cannot intervene and allow consideration of a prayer that is legally untenable.”
Referring to the Supreme Court's precedent in Common Cause v Union of India, the Court underscored that active euthanasia, involving the administration of lethal drugs, is legally impermissible in India. Therefore, the High Court found no legal basis to entertain his request for referral to a medical board to consider passive euthanasia.
The Court held, “In view of the above, this Court is not inclined to accept the request of the Petitioner to refer the Petitioner to a Medical Board to consider as to whether the Petitioner can be allowed to undergo passive euthanasia.”
The Court dismissed the petition along with any related applications, adhering to the legal framework established by previous judicial pronouncements on euthanasia in India.
Cause Title: Harish Rana v. Union of India & Ors., [2024:DHC:4988]
Appearance:
Petitioner: Advocates Neeraj Gupta, Manish Jain, Vikas Kumar Verma, Chelsi, Anchal, Rajesh Kumar and Shanky Jain
Respondents: Ripu Daman Bhardwaj, CGSC with Advocates Kushagra Kumar, Abhinav Bhardwaj, Satya Ranjan Swain, Kautilya Birat, Udit Malik with Vishal Chanda
Click here to read/download Judgment
