Whenever the issue of administering euthanasia comes up, there is a heated debate between those who oppose it and those who favour it. Most of us are of the view that a peaceful end to life may be more soothing than for a person to be in a vegetative state and go through the torture of a never-ending medical process.
But again, there is no consensus on this issue among either the lawmakers or the judiciary, leave alone in the social sphere. If the sanctity of life is paramount for the state while arguing against passive euthanasia, it then entails a larger debate: Would the Indian state agree to forsake capital punishmentIJ
The Supreme Court's directive to States seeking their views on passive euthanasia for terminally-ill patients throws the ball back to the legislature which has been unable to decide on this controversial issue. India, unlike many other developed countries, does not have a proper law regulating different medical cases which call for all kinds of euthanasia.