The Supreme Court has, for the first time, actually permitted passive euthanasia to be carried out in a specific case, rather than merely restating the legal principle. Acting on a petition to withdraw life support or artificial nutrition from a patient in an irreversible medical condition, the Court examined the medical evidence and applicable safeguards and allowed withdrawal of treatment — operationalising a right that had existed on paper for a decade.
The constitutional basis is Article 21's guarantee of life with dignity, enforced via Article 32 (Supreme Court) and Article 226 (High Courts). Passive euthanasia (withdrawing life-sustaining treatment) is legally distinct from active euthanasia or assisted suicide, which remain criminal offences. Doctors acting in good faith are protected under BNS Sections 26 and 30, while abetment of suicide (BNS 108), murder (BNS 101), and culpable homicide (BNS 100) remain separately punishable.
Remember: earlier rulings recognised passive euthanasia and living wills/advance directives under Article 21 as guidelines; this case marks their first actual implementation in a real patient's withdrawal of life support.