To Die With Dignity

Talking about “death” is often considered taboo in many cultures. But Harish Rana’s (31) death on March 24, 2025, at 4:10 pm, after getting a nod for passive euthanasia from the Supreme Court on March 11, 2026, has opened up a healthy conversation on a “good death” and to “die with dignity” in many Indian households. Harish was in coma for 13 years after a freak accident in 2013.

A bench of justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan of the SC’s landmark judgment praised Rana’s parents, saying: “To love someone is to care for them not just in times of joy, but in their saddest and darkest hours.” The SC directed doctors to withdraw Harish’s life support through a carefully planned process that ensured “dignity.”

The Ground Reality

Many doctors, terminally ill patients and caregivers of severely brain-

damaged patients hailed the SC’s order as progressive and much-needed to suit our changing times. “As much as we love our family members. When someone is terminally ill for a long time, the caregivers get mentally, emotionally, physically, and financially exhausted. The patient also hates his/her quality of life,” says Seema Iyer, whose mother passed away recently after being bedridden for 11 years.

Advocate Saharsh Saxena, Counsel, SC and Delhi HC says, “Passive euthanasia can be permitted in certain cases belonging to the category of persistent vegetative state and terminally ill patients.” He explains that the process is governed by a strict and detailed legal framework, requiring extensive documentation in line with landmark judgements such as the Common Cause v. Union of India.

But sometimes the cruellest thing is not death. It is being forced to keep living without dignity. It is here that stories like Harish Rana come into sharp focus. For 13 years, the world moved on outside Rana’s window, while his world stood still. Decades earlier, Aruna Shanbaug had already lived through a longer silence. Aruna was a young nurse at Mumbai’s KEM Hospital whose life changed irreversibly in 1973 after a brutal (rape) assault that left her with severe brain damage. She was in a persistent vegetative state for 42 years.

The Living Will

Explaining the legal process, Adv Vishwam explains, “The process ordinarily begins with a valid ‘Living Will’ or ‘Advance Directive’ executed by the patient, or in its absence, a request by family members to the treating hospital.” The hospital must constitute a primary medical board to assess the patient’s condition, whose opinion must be independently reviewed by a second medical board of experienced specialists. Only after these medical assessments confirm that continued treatment is futile can life-sustaining measures be withdrawn in accordance with prescribed safeguards.

The Indian law makes a clear but simple distinction when it comes to end-of-life decisions. Passive euthanasia is allowed, but only under very strict conditions. This means doctors can withdraw or not continue life-support treatment—like ventilators or artificial feeding, if a patient is terminally ill or has no chance of recovery. The SC in Common Cause v. Union of India also said that people have a right to die with dignity under Article 21. Because of this, individuals can leave behind a “Living Will” stating that they do not want to be kept alive on artificial support in such situations.

To Let Go Or Not

Passive euthanasia is permitted only in the most extreme cases, where a patient is either terminally ill or locked in a persistent vegetative state.

“In any prolonged illness, it is not just the patient who suffers, but also the primary caregivers. Families are stretched thin, emotionally drained, and burdened by the financial weight of sustaining a life that medicine can no longer meaningfully restore,” says M Menezes, whose father is suffering from a severe neurological illness. And yet, even in such moments, a Living Will—no matter how clearly written—does not stand alone as a final word. It is only the beginning of a far more rigorous process. Perhaps, living with dignity remains achievable- but dying with dignity is still a question that law continues to wrestle with!

Active euthanasia is still illegal in India

Some people think that the recent SC developments may offer a glimmer of hope to petitions made by a Mumbai-based childless couple, Narayan (96) and Iravati Lavate (86), for their ‘right to die.” In 2017, the Lavates sent petitions to the President, CJI and the state government to allow them to die with dignity through ‘active euthanasia’. They argue that they are of no use to society, and it is unfair to keep them waiting till they contract some serious ailment or deformity. “We are leading unproductive and obsolete lives,” they say. However, active euthanasia is still illegal in India.

Advocate Vishwam Dwivedi, Advocate, SC and Allahabad High Court says, “Any senior citizen or an ill person cannot randomly seek passive euthanasia through a simple plea before the courts.” He opines that courts permit passive euthanasia only in carefully regulated medical circumstances, typically where a patient is terminally ill, in a permanent vegetative state, or suffering from an irreversible condition with no realistic prospect of recovery. Adv Vishwam clarifies that active euthanasia is still illegal. Explaining further, he says, “This would involve directly causing someone’s death—for example, giving a lethal injection—and the law treats this as a criminal act.” Similarly, assisted dying is also not allowed. This means no one, including a doctor, can help a person end their own life, as it can lead to criminal charges.

Law & Behold

Legal Way for Passive Euthanasia

• Begins with a valid living will or advance directive.

• If absent, a family member can request withdrawal to the treating Hospital.

• The treating Hospital then constitutes a Primary Medical Board that assesses the patient.

• A Second Medical Board (including experienced specialists) reviews the assessment.

• Life support is withdrawn only if treatment is deemed futile, following safeguards and guidelines issued by the Supreme Court of India.