The plea of 70-year-old Karibasamma in the high court that she be allowed to end her life as she has no means to treat a painful medical condition that allows her no respite, has stirred a debate.
The plea of 70-year-old Karibasamma in the high court that she be allowed to end her life as she has no means to treat a painful medical condition that allows her no respite, has stirred a debate.
KV Dhananjay, Supreme Court advocate, speaks to DNA
Give us a little historical background, please.
When thinking of euthanasia, the image that springs to mind is of Sisyphus from Greek mythology. Sisyphus was punished by the gods for chaining Thanatos, god of death, and thus making humans immortal. He was cursed with eternal frustration, rolling a huge boulder uphill only to have it roll right back in an eternal cycle. Suicide figures in Sanskrit texts. The Sanskrit term prayopavesha means self-willed death through fasting. Elderly people, according to this Vedic tradition, would reduce their food intake and slowly wither.
How valid is the request to be allowed to kill oneself legally?
Life is built on hopes and dreams. We look forward with expectation, we have ambitions. The moment we surrender these, life becomes a dreary prospect, and we are chained to frustration and despair. Like Sisyphus, we roll a boulder up the hill, have it roll back, and set to work all over again in an endless cycle.
What I meant to ask was the legal history of euthanasia.
The Supreme Court, in the P Rathinam v. Union of India (AIR 1994 SC 1844) case, held that the right to live, of which Article 21 speaks, can be said to bring in its trail the right not to live a forced life. It held that Section 309 therefore violates Article 21, and declared it unconstitutional. However, a five-judge constitutional bench overruled this decision in the Gian Kaur case, holding that Article 21 cannot be construed to include within it the ‘right to die’.
Is euthanasia allowed in some countries?
The word ‘euthanasia’, is derived from the Greek words meaning ‘Good Death’. To end suffering and rest from life in a dignified manner is indeed legal in some parts of the world. The Netherlands, for instance, or Switzerland allow such death. Some states in the US, Oregon for instance, has a Death with Dignity Act.
What do you think of the demand for allowing euthanasia in our Constitution?
In India, euthanasia is punishable under Section 300 of the Indian Penal Code. Section 309 of IPC makes attempt to commit suicide punishable. Given that corruption is rampant in this country, there is a reasonable danger that elderly members of a family could be forced to the death bed by family members who only need bogus ‘disease certificates’ from corrupt medical practitioners to have false wills and transfer deeds registered.
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