The Supreme Court has reserved its judgment on a plea seeking passive euthanasia for a man who has been in a comatose state for over 12 years after suffering a fall in 2013. The court heard arguments regarding the withdrawal of artificial life support and the ethical considerations involved.
The father had approached the Supreme Court in 2024 seeking passive euthanasia for his son. The court had then declined to grant relief.
'...I am not part of it. If you want to boycott me because of this, and there have been obvious instances where people didn't want to review my films because I am not important.'
A 52-year-old government school teacher from Indore, who is suffering from an excruciating bone disorder that has confined her to a wheelchair, has sought President Droupadi Murmu's permission to undergo euthanasia.
Watch Kaalidhar Laapata because clean family-viewing films are getting scarcer by the week, recommends Deepa Gahlot.
The main litigant in the Gyanvapi-Shringar Gauri complex case has sought "permission for euthanasia" from President Droupadi Murmu, alleging that her fellow petitioners are spreading false propaganda to defame her.
In a bid to make the guidelines on "living will" more workable and less cumbersome, the Supreme Court on Tuesday removed the condition that mandated a magistrate's approval for withdrawal or withholding of life support to a terminally ill person.
Describing the case as a "very hard one", the Supreme Court sought the Centre's response on Tuesday on a plea of a couple whose 30-year-old son has been lying in a vegetative state in a hospital since 2013 after suffering head injuries.
"Human beings have the right to die with dignity." That's what the Supreme Court said on Friday while saying that passive euthanasia is permissible within guidelines. However, what is passive euthanasia? What is a living will? Here's all you need to know on the issue.
The draft bill allows euthanasia for patients who can take informed decisions; doctors to be protected from liability.
Kerala Catholic Bishop Conference president Archbishop Soosa Paikam said the verdict was "painful" and would have disastrous consequences.
Belgian Paralympian Marieke Vervoort has said she is still considering euthanasia but contrary to media reports, will not be ending her life immediately after the Games in Rio. The 37-year-old, who won a silver medal in the 400 metres wheelchair race on Saturday, suffers from an incurable and degenerative spinal condition and signed euthanasia papers in 2008 in Belgium, where it is legal. Belgian media reported before the Games that she might take her life after Rio, but Vervoort rejected the reports in an emotional media conference on Sunday.
The bench laid down guidelines as to who would execute the will and how the nod for passive euthanasia would be granted by the medical board.
The Supreme Court on Friday said it will await the government's stand in its endeavour to examine a plea to legalise passive euthanasia by means of withdrawal of life support system to terminally-ill patients.
The Supreme Court verdict dismissing the plea for mercy killing of 60-year-old Aruna Shanbaug was on Monday welcomed by the medical fraternity, including nurses looking after the comatose sexual assault victim, which cautioned that any move to legalise active euthanasia was fraught with dangers. "India is not mature enough to handle euthanasia," said senior Bangaluru-based cardiologist Devi Prasad Shetty, while expressing his joy over the verdict on Shanbaug.
Those talking about euthanasia using Aruna Shanbaug as leverage had better cry out for an actively functioning, effective and affordable healthcare regime. That would be a better service rendered to those who need it, says Mahesh Vijapurkar.
Faced with the vexed question of permitting euthanasia or mercy killing of a rape victim virtually brain dead for the past 36 years, the Supreme Court on Monday sought the Attorney General's response on the tricky issue as it is not legalised in the country.
A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra reserved its verdict on a plea seeking recognition of 'living will' made by a terminally-ill patient for passive euthanasia.
'Aruna Shanbaug's death has again opened up the euthanasia conversation in the public domain. For a health care discourse often dominated by inane news, this is not such a bad thing.'
While that created a stir so did the decision on his penultimate day at work with the Supreme Court rechristening its summer vacation "partial court working days", an issue that has led to criticism that the apex court judges enjoyed long breaks.
The court said the decision shall be communicated by the Union ministry of health and family welfare for considering whether any law, enactment, or guidelines are required to address issues related to posthumous reproduction or post-mortal reproduction.
Justice Sanjiv Khanna, who has been part of several landmark Supreme Court judgements such as scrapping the electoral bonds scheme and upholding abrogation of Article 370, will be sworn in as the 51st Chief Justice of India on Monday.
Blood cancer patient Alka Tiwari, who had grabbed headlines after appealing to a court in Kanpur to either ask the government to bear her medical expenses or allow euthanasia, has died. Alka, 21, who had been suffering from aplastic anaemia blood cancer since 2002, died at the Christian Medical College Vellore on Monday, her brother Brijesh Tiwari said on Tuesday. Moved by the slum dweller's plight, several local residents, politicians and social organisations came forward.
'If someone were to ask you if you want to die tomorrow, no matter what problems you are grappling with, you would be hesitant, right?'
The apex court's 2018 order on passive euthanasia wherein it recognised the right to die with dignity as a fundamental right and an aspect of Article 21 (right to life) notwithstanding, people wanting to get a 'living will' registered have been facing problems due to cumbersome guidelines.
However, district authorities denied receiving any such complaint and said a case in this regard was being being heard in court.
Believe it or not, our desi Greek God is all of 50 today. Celebrating Bollywood's golden star with 10 of his coolest introduction scenes.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to constitute a special bench to hear a plea against the remission of sentence of 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano gangrape case, which also involves the killing of seven members of her family during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala assured Bano, represented through her lawyer Shobha Gupta, that the new bench will be formed at the earliest.
The hearing on Bilkis Bano's plea challenging the remission of sentence of 11 convicts in the gang-rape case by the Gujarat government, could not be held in the Supreme Court on Tuesday as the judges concerned were hearing a matter related to passive euthanasia as part of a five-judge Constitution bench.
'The right to vote is the supreme right of democracy which is being executed through EVMs. No nationally or internally recognized institutions or governments have certified the EVMs as a cent per cent accurate. Despite this fact, by conducting polling using the machines in India, which is the biggest democracy in the world, the constitutional right of my vote is being violated. There is no guarantee whether my vote is cast in favour of whom I pressed the button through the EVM machine,' he said.
Death is a reality of life and yet we shy away from talking about it openly, observes Aarti David.
'Passive euthanasia is actually more important in the sense that the need to administer it arises every day in some hospital or the other. And it can be administered without a living will,' Vipul Mudgal, director of the NGO Common Cause -- which had filed a plea to declare 'right to die with dignity' as a Fundamental Right flowing from Article 21 or the Right to Life, -- tells Rediff.com's Swarupa Dutt.
Kajol does the best she can with the role though it is a bit limiting. Vishal Jethwa gives the movie-crazy Venky a bright charm, observes Deepa Gahlot.
You'll need extra eyes for the amount of OTT content available this week. Sukanya Verma invites you to take your pick.
Her son is suffering from muscular distrophy, which is incurable. So, the latter wants to donate his organs.
Counted as a judge who enriched the 'verdict docket' of the apex court, Justice Chandrachud is viewed as sharp, articulate and forward looking.
Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, however, had no qualms about overturning the judgements of father Y V Chandrachud on hot- button issues like adultery and the right to privacy.
'Every adult has the right to ignore the tenets of any and every faith, so long as it does not harm somebody else,' says Devangshu Datta.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances