Supreme Court to Hear Case on Passive Euthanasia Rights for Rabies Patients

The Supreme Court will hear a public interest litigation that seeks the right to passive euthanasia for rabies patients. Filed by NGO All Creatures Great and Small, the petition requests a legal process for allowing rabies sufferers or their guardians to choose assisted dying due to its near-certain fatality rate.

On Monday, the Supreme Court is set to examine a public interest litigation (PIL) focusing on the right to passive euthanasia for patients suffering from rabies. The hearing was approved by a bench of Justices B R Gavai and K Vinod Chandran following a petition by the NGO All Creatures Great and Small.

Originally filed in 2019, the petition gained momentum in 2020 when the top court issued notices to the government, seeking responses from the ministries of health and environment. The NGO argues that rabies, with its 100% fatality rate, qualifies as a unique case for allowing assisted dying.

The NGO's plea is to create an exception under the 2018 Supreme Court judgment that recognized a 'living will' for terminally ill patients, aiming to provide rabies sufferers the legal right to a dignified death due to the disease's severe symptoms and lack of a cure.