SC agrees to hear plea seeking passive euthanasia for rabies patients
PTC Web Desk: The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a plea in two weeks seeking passive euthanasia for rabies patients, challenging a 2019 Delhi High Court order that denied such a provision. The case, brought forward by the NGO All Creatures Great and Small, argues that rabies should be classified as an exceptional disease due to its 100% fatality rate and extreme suffering.
A Bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and K Vinod Chandran said, “We will have it after two weeks on a non-miscellaneous day,” while hearing the matter on Monday. The petition urges the Supreme Court to establish a legal procedure allowing rabies patients or their guardians to opt for physician-assisted passive euthanasia.
The NGO's plea challenges the Delhi High Court's July 2019 order, which had refused to direct the Centre and other authorities to consider rabies as an exceptional disease warranting euthanasia. The Supreme Court had issued a notice to the Centre and other stakeholders in January 2020, seeking their responses to the petition. However, on Monday, the petitioner's counsel informed the Bench that the Centre had already filed a counter affidavit in the Delhi High Court back in 2018.
Represented by senior advocate Sonia Mathur and advocate Noor Rampal, the NGO highlighted the excruciating pain and violent symptoms suffered by rabies patients. The plea emphasises that individuals with the disease often have to be restrained to prevent harm to themselves and others, severely impacting their dignity and personal freedom.
The petition builds on the Supreme Court’s landmark 2018 ruling that recognised the right to die with dignity as part of the fundamental right to life, allowing passive euthanasia under specific circumstances. The NGO is now seeking an exception within this legal framework specifically for rabies patients, citing the lack of a cure and the extreme distress caused by the disease.
The Supreme Court’s decision on this plea could set a significant precedent in India's euthanasia laws, determining whether rabies patients should be granted the right to a painless and dignified end.
- With inputs from agencies
