Bengaluru Woman Appeals Delhi HC to Stop Friend's Trip For Euthanasia

A woman from Bangalore went to the Delhi High Court to stop her friend from travelling to Europe in order to stop his wish of going through euthanasia on Wednesday.

The Delhi High Court will be relied upon to deliberate on an unusual issue when it reopens next week following a week's holiday. Assisted suicide or euthanasia is not an option available to a person in India who is not terminally ill, but a 49-year-old woman from Bengaluru wants the court to prevent her friend, a 48-year-old man from Noida with a crippling health condition, from travelling to Europe.

Bengaluru Woman Stop Euthanasia

According to a petition filed with the court on Wednesday, the individual has been suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome since 2014 and is allegedly intending to fly to Switzerland for physician-assisted death. The woman, who identified herself as a close friend of the patient, argued that denial of the request to suspend his travel would cause "irreparable loss" and "hardship" for the patient's parents, other family members, and friends.

According to the petition, the Noida man was receiving treatment at AIIMS for his ailment via a procedure called faecal microbiota transplantation, but he was unable to continue during the pandemic due to "donor availability issues." His symptoms began in 2014, and throughout the course of the following eight years, his health worsened to the point that he was "totally bed-bound and only able to walk a few steps within the residence." The man has a sister and is the sole child of his elderly parents in their 70s, as stated in the petition.

According to case-related documents, the petitioner has been in touch with the man and his family frequently about his medical condition. The petitioner claims that the man sent her a message saying, "Looking at euthanasia options. Had enough."

"It is pertinent to mention that there are no financial constraints for providing with better treatments within India or abroad but he is now adamant on his decision to go for Euthanasia, which also affects the life of age-old parents miserably," as stated on the petition.

The patient allegedly provided "false information" in order to obtain a Schengen visa in the past, which permits unrestricted travel to 26 European nations. The patient claimed that he was receiving treatment at a clinic in Belgium. The petition asserted that he actually travelled to Zurich, Switzerland, through Belgium, in June for the preliminary psychological assessment for euthanasia.

The petition claims that the individual has chosen to have euthanasia performed by the Zurich-based Dignitas organisation, which aids international nationals.

"According to the information received by the Petitioner, his application was accepted by Dignitas, first evaluation was approved and (he is) now awaiting the final decision by the end of August 2022," as per the petition.

The patient allegedly received a letter from an AIIMS doctor in May stating that he was going to Belgium for medical consultation and potential future treatment because the ailment is still being researched and is not well-known in India. Medical papers are submitted with the petition to indicate that the patient was given this letter.

Although the petition is only asking for the man's emigration clearance to be denied on the grounds that he has given authorities "false claims" regarding obtaining travel authorisation and for assembling a medical team to evaluate him, there isn't much of a legal precedent to support this request.

Subash Chandran, an advocate that represents the woman in the case said, "I did not find any precedents. The legal position has to be decided by the court. He is not travelling with bonafide intentions. He is misleading the Indian authorities that is why we are praying for not granting him emigration clearance. We have no other option."

In 2018, the Supreme Court issued a major decision that legalised passive euthanasia for terminally ill patients, allowing them to refuse life-sustaining procedures and permitting families of patients in an irreversible coma to withdraw from such procedures.

While attempted suicide is illegal under Section 309 of the IPC, the Mental Healthcare Act specifies in Section 115(1) that "any person who attempts to commit suicide shall be presumed, unless proved otherwise, to be under severe stress and shall not be tried and punished under the said Code."

Suggested Reading: Supreme Court Gives Legal Sanction to Passive Euthanasia

Aruna Shanbaug was a nurse who spent nearly 42 years in a vegetative state after experiencing sexual assault until passing away in 2015. Pinki Virani, an author and activist, had petitioned the Supreme Court in 2011 to stop providing life support to Aruna, but it was denied. In 2011, Zurich voters rejected Swiss plans to prohibit or restrict assisted suicide for foreigners. Many countries, including Singapore, have been chastised for encouraging "suicide tourism."