Parliament yet to act on end-of-life care law despite repeated Supreme Court nudges: Rajya Sabha MP

A member of the Rajya Sabha on Monday (March 16, 2026) urged the government to legislate on end-of-life care of terminally ill patients, pointing out that Parliament has failed to act on the issue despite multiple reports of the Law Commission and Supreme Court directives spanning two decades.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour, IUML MP Haris Beeran (Kerala) appealed to the government to implement the Medical Treatment of Terminally ill (End of Life Care) Act as recommended by the Law Commission and make palliative care infrastructure mandatory in every district hospital and primary health centre.

Mr Beeran’s remarks followed the Supreme Court decision allowing life support to be withdrawn for Harish Rana, who remained in a persistent vegetative state for 13 years after an accidental fall in 2013.

Bench Justice Jamshed Pardiwala and Justice KV Viswanathan reportedly had tears in their eyes while delivering the verdict, telling the patient’s parents that they had not given up on their son but had allowed him to live with dignity.

Citing a series of legislative inactions, Mr Beeran said the Law Commission had examined the issue of passive euthanasia in detail in its 196th Report in 2006 and included a bill, but Parliament had failed to act.

The Supreme Court intervened in the Aruna Shanbaug case in 2011 to frame the guidelines.

The 241st Law Commission Report in 2012 again proposed draft legislation. A Constitution bench in the Common Cause case in 2018 issued guidelines and made it clear that they would only apply until Parliament passed a law. The guidelines were changed in 2023. The final decision in 2026 once again expressed hope that Parliament would act.

“How much further can the Supreme Court stretch Article 21?” Mr Beeran said, referring to the Constitutional right to live with dignity, which the courts have interpreted to include the right to die with dignity.

The lawmaker also pointed out the financial burden on families, noting that more than 65% of all healthcare expenses in the country are paid entirely out of pocket.

He cited Kerala’s community-based palliative care program, which has been operating since 2008, as a model for the rest of the country. The program covers every gram panchayat in the state and integrates more than 500 NGOs.