Delhi HC refuses to refer to medical board man’s case for allowing passive euthanasia

Delhi High Court denies plea for passive euthanasia of man in vegetative state, citing legal impermissibility of active euthanasia.

The Delhi High Court has refused to refer to a medical board the case of a 30-year-old man, who suffered head injuries in 2013 and is lying in a vegetative state, for allowing to undergo passive euthanasia.

The high court said the facts of the case indicate the man is not being kept alive mechanically and he is able to sustain himself without any extra external aid.

“The petitioner is not on any life support system and the petitioner is surviving without any external aid. While the court sympathises with the parents, as the petitioner is not terminally ill, this court cannot intervene and allow consideration of a prayer that is legally untenable,” Justice Subramonium Prasad said.

The high court also referred to several Supreme Court judgements in which it was held that active euthanasia is legally impermissible.

“The petitioner is thus living and no one, including a physician, is permitted to cause the death of another person by administering any lethal drug, even if the objective is to relieve the patient from pain and suffering,” it said.

The court said it is not inclined to accept the request of the petitioner to refer him to a medical board to consider whether he can be allowed to undergo passive euthanasia and dismissed the petition.

Passive euthanasia refers to intentionally letting a patient die by withholding artificial life support such as a ventilator or feeding tube.