Aruna Shanbaug wrongly relied upon Gian Kaur, says SC; Constitution Bench to decide on Euthanasia and Living Wills

A three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court has referred to a Constitution Bench, the questions arising out of and around the practice of euthanasia and “living wills”. The three-judge Bench did not frame any specific question of law..The Bench comprising Chief Justice P Sathasivam and Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Shiva Kirti Singh took this decision in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by NGO Common Cause (Petitioner)..The Petitioner had sought a declaration to the effect that the ‘right to die with dignity’ be held a facet of the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution. It had also prayed for a direction to the Centre and States to adopt suitable procedure to ensure that the persons with deteriorating health or the terminally ill be allowed to execute a document, viz., a ‘living will & Attorney authorization’. This document could then be presented to a hospital for appropriate action in the event the executant’s health worsens..Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Siddharth Luthra appeared for the Centre while Advocate Prashant Bhushan represented the Petitioner..The Court after hearing the parties held that though the Constitution Bench decision in Gian Kaur v. State of Punjab held that the ‘right to live with dignity’ under Article 21 was inclusive of ‘right to die with dignity’, the decision did not arrive at a conclusion on the validity of euthanasia be it active or passive..Holding that the only judgment that held the field with regard to euthanasia in India was Aruna Ramchandra Shanbaug v. Union of India – which had upheld the validity of passive euthanasia and laid down an elaborate procedure for executing the same – the Court proceeded to hold that Aruna Shanbaug rested on the wrong premise that the Constitution Bench in Gian Kaur had upheld passive euthanasia. The Court also held that this particular issue had produced some inconsistent opinions. It, therefore, went on to refer the matter to a Constitution Bench observing that,.“We refrain from framing any specific questions for consideration by the Constitution Bench as we invite the Constitution Bench to go into all the aspects of the matter and lay down exhaustive guidelines in this regard.”.In 2011, the Supreme Court while dismissing a plea for the mercy killing of Aruna Shanbaug had permitted passive euthanasia..Read the full judgment below.