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@article{209138,
author = {Prapti Prasad Sinkar},
title = {THE RIGHT TO LIVE WITH DIGNITY: RETHINKING THE CONSTITUTIONAL BOUNDARIES OF PASSIVE EUTHANASIA},
journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
year = {2026},
volume = {13},
number = {5},
pages = {730-736},
issn = {2349-6002},
url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=209138},
abstract = {The Supreme Court's decision in Harish Rana v. Union of India, 2026 INSC 222, examines the constitutional boundaries governing the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment from a patient in a permanent vegetative state. The case raises significant questions concerning the status of clinically assisted nutrition and hydration (CANH), the meaning of the best-interest standard, and the relationship between the right to life, dignity and autonomy under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. This commentary traces the constitutional development of the right to die with dignity through P. Rathinam, Gian Kaur, Aruna Ramachandra Shanbaug and Common Cause, and analyses the Court's treatment of CANH as medical treatment in the circumstances of the case. It further examines the Court's approach to medical futility, substituted judgment, family consultation and institutional safeguards. The commentary argues that the judgment's significance lies in shifting the legal inquiry from an abstract question of whether a person should live or die to the more specific question of whether continued medical intervention remains justified in the circumstances of the patient.},
keywords = {Article 21, autonomy, best interests, CANH, dignity, end-of-life care, passive euthanasia.},
month = {October},
}
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