Supreme Court urges Centre to enact comprehensive legislation on passive euthanasia

The Supreme Court on Thursday urged the Union Government to consider enacting a comprehensive legislation on the subject of passive euthanasia in consonance with the vision of the constitution bench judgment in Common Cause case of 2018.

A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and K V Vishwanathan said such a legislation would provide more clarity, coherence, and certainty to these pertinent, practical and emotionally charged issues.

"The prolonged absence of a comprehensive legislation on end-of-life care has compelled this court, time and again, to step in to fill the vacuum, out of constitutional necessity rather than institutional choice. While the guidelines as laid down in Common Cause have served as an important interim safeguard to protect the right to live and die with dignity, they were never intended to operate as a permanent substitute for legislation,'' the bench said.

The court issued its directions in its judgment on a plea by Harish Rana to withdraw the life support system for he remained lying in vegetative state for 13 years.

The Common Cause 2018 judgment stated any decision to withdraw or withhold medical treatment must withstand scrutiny on two primary grounds: first, the intervention in question must qualify as “medical treatment”, and second, its withdrawal must strictly be in the patient's “best interests”.

In its decision, the court also asked the High Courts of all States to issue appropriate directions to all Judicial Magistrates of First Class (JMFC) within their jurisdiction to receive intimation from the hospital, in accordance with the guidelines as laid down in Common Cause, in the event the primary medical board and secondary medical board are unanimous in their decision to withdraw and/or withhold the medical treatment of any patient.

The bench directed the Union government, in coordination with the respective Secretaries of Health & Family Welfare of all States/UTs, to ensure that the CMOs of all concerned districts across the country, forthwith prepare and maintain a panel consisting of registered medical practitioners possessing qualifications in accordance with the guidelines as laid down in Common Cause, for the purpose of nomination to the secondary medical board.

The court said, the panel so prepared would be periodically reviewed and updated by the CMOs at regular intervals not exceeding twelve months, so as to ensure availability, suitability, and continued compliance with the requirements under the guidelines as laid down in Common Cause case.

"It shall be the duty of the Secretaries of Health & Family Welfare of each State/UT to make sure that such periodic review and updation at regular intervals is undertaken,'' the bench said.