PASSIVE EUTHANASIA IN INDIA AND RIGHT TO DIE WITH DIGNITY: ANALYSING HARISH RANA V. UNION OF INDIA

The debate surrounding passive euthanasia and the right to die with dignity has emerged as one of the most complicated constitutional and ethical questions in India. This following paper mainly analyses the recent supreme court Judgement of harish rana v. union of India (2026), a landmark judgement in history of India where supreme court allowed first implementation of passive euthanasia using modified guidelines recognised by supreme court of India in the broader framework of Indian constitutional jurisprudence concerning the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. This allowed a person in permanent vegetative state for right to die with dignity by withdrawing life support. The paper further discusses how judiciary interpreted the right to die, explains the main issues before the Court, the Court’s clarifications and explanations and how this verdict stands as a landmark one in jurisprudence. This paper gives a brief about passive euthanasia and evolution of judgements from Maruti Shripati Dubal v. State of Maharashtra (1987) to harish rana v. union of India (2026) , providing facts that how through these judgements definition of euthanasia in India improvised.