गरिमा के साथ जीवन समाप्ति: भारत में अंत‑जीवन देखभाल का नया परिप्रेक्ष्य

The Right to Die with Dignity: Redefining End-of-Life Care in India

India has consistently ranked among the world’s most difficult places to die.

For many Indians, this statistic translates into deeply personal realities: a daughter uncertain whether she can honour her father’s wish not to be kept alive by machines, and a doctor afraid that easing a patient’s final days could expose them to criminal liability. Limited access to palliative care, inadequate end-of-life infrastructure, low public awareness, and deep discomfort around conversations on death have meant that patients and families often face some of life’s hardest decisions without legal certainty or institutional support. The law offered little clarity on when treatment that only prolonged suffering could be withheld or withdrawn.

Vidhi set out to build the legal and institutional foundations for dignified end-of-life care in India. Over the last several years, the team has helped build the legal, ethical, and policy foundations for recognising dignity at the end of life as an integral part of the right to life under the Constitution of India.

Years of legal research, constitutional litigation, and policy engagement were ultimately tested in the life of one family. In 2013, Harish Rana, an engineering student, accidentally fell from the fourth-floor balcony at his accommodation. The accident left him in a persistent vegetative state with quadriplegia. For more than a decade, he remained dependent on Clinically Assisted Nutrition and Hydration (CANH) delivered through a feeding tube, with no hope for recovery. His parents faced an impossible question: Could treatment that no longer offered hope of recovery be lawfully withdrawn?

The law offered no clear answer.

Although the Supreme Court had recognised the right to die with dignity in Common Cause, it had not clarified whether CANH constituted life-sustaining treatment that could be withdrawn. When Harish’s family approached the Delhi High Court, their request was rejected on the ground that it amounted to “active euthanasia.” An appeal before the Supreme Court met the same fate. Vidhi joined the legal team representing Harish and his parents. Drawing on years of research, best practices from comparative jurisprudence, and medical evidence, Vidhi helped file a miscellaneous application and written submissions before the Supreme Court of India in the matter.

In March 2026, the Supreme Court delivered a landmark judgment. For the first time, the judiciary applied the guidelines of withholding or withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment as held in Common Cause. The judgment did more than resolve one family’s case, it provided long-awaited clarity for doctors, hospitals, and families across India who face some of life’s most difficult decisions.

India’s legal recognition of the right to die with dignity marks an important milestone, but the journey towards compassionate end-of-life care is only beginning. The next challenge lies in ensuring that constitutional rights become everyday practice. This requires stronger implementation by states, greater awareness among healthcare professionals and families, clearer institutional processes, and comprehensive legislation to support end-of-life decision-making across the country.

To access Vidhi’s resources on End-of-Life-Care, visit https://vidhilegalpolicy.in/eolctoolkit/

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