{"id":77320,"date":"2025-12-10T18:15:17","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T12:45:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=77320"},"modified":"2025-12-10T18:15:17","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T12:45:17","slug":"common-cause-vs-union-of-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/common-cause-vs-union-of-india\/","title":{"rendered":"Common Cause vs Union of India 2018, Right to Die with Dignity"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The landmark <\/span><b>Common Cause vs Union of India (2018)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> judgment is one of the most important decisions in India\u2019s constitutional and medical ethics landscape.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Through this case, the Supreme Court recognized that the <\/span><b>Right to Die with Dignity is a fundamental right under Article 21<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, thereby allowing <\/span><b>passive euthanasia<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>living wills<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in India under strict safeguards.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Issues Before the Supreme Court<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Supreme Court had to address several crucial constitutional and ethical questions, including:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/right-to-die-with-dignity-sc-guidelines-and-legal-framework-in-india\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Right to Die with Dignity<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> can be included within the <\/span><b>Right to Life under Article 21<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether <\/span><b>passive euthanasia<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> should be legally allowed in India.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether individuals should be permitted to create an <\/span><b>Advance Directive (Living Will)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> specifying their end-of-life medical decisions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How to balance <\/span><b>patient autonomy<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><b>medical ethics<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and <\/span><b>state interest<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in preserving life?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What procedural safeguards should be established to prevent misuse?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Supreme Court\u2019s Interpretation of Article 21<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Supreme Court interpreted Article 21 &#8211; Right to Life and Personal Liberty in an expansive and humane manner. Key observations include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Right to Life does not mean forced prolongation of life through artificial means.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Court held that <\/span><b>life with dignity includes death with dignity<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, especially during the final stages of an incurable illness.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The judgment emphasized <\/span><b>individual autonomy<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, especially in the context of medical treatment.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Court recognized that allowing a terminally ill patient to avoid unnecessary suffering was consistent with Article 21.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>What is Euthanasia?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Euthanasia refers to intentionally ending a person\u2019s life to relieve them from extreme suffering due to terminal or irreversible illness. It is mainly classified into:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Active Euthanasia <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2013 Direct intervention to cause death (e.g., administering lethal medication). This is illegal in India.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Passive Euthanasia <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2013 Withdrawing or withholding life-support systems such as ventilators, feeding tubes, or medications to allow natural death. This is legal in India since the 2018 judgment.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><b>Passive Euthanasia in India<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Passive euthanasia in India refers to withdrawing or withholding life-support treatment for terminally ill patients when recovery is medically impossible. The Supreme Court legalized it in the Common Cause vs Union of India (2018) judgment, recognizing the Right to Die with Dignity under Article 21.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legalized by the Supreme Court in <\/span><b>2018<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> through the Common Cause judgment.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Permits withdrawal of life-support when a patient is terminally ill or in an irreversible state.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Living Will \/ Advance Directive<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> allowed for patients to express end-of-life medical choices.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Requires a <\/span><b>two-tier medical board<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with 5 years of practice to certify the patient\u2019s condition.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Active euthanasia remains illegal<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in India.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ensures patient autonomy, dignity, and ethical end-of-life care.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Conclusion<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>Common Cause vs Union of India (2018)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> judgment marked a transformative moment in Indian constitutional law by recognizing the <\/span><b>Right to Die with Dignity<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> under Article 21. It ensured that terminally ill individuals are not forced to endure unnecessary suffering and can make informed end-of-life decisions through passive euthanasia and Living Wills. Overall, the ruling strengthened personal autonomy, medical ethics, and the humane interpretation of fundamental rights.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Common Cause vs Union of India 2018 upheld the Right to Die with Dignity under Article 21, legalising passive euthanasia and Living Wills with strict safeguards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":77341,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[786],"tags":[4136],"class_list":{"0":"post-77320","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-general-studies","8":"tag-common-cause-vs-union-of-india","9":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77320"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77320\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}