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 introduce legislation on end-of-life care for terminally ill patients, pointing out that Parliament has failed to act on the issue despite multiple Law Commission reports and Supreme Court directives spanning two decades.

Raising the matter during Zero Hour, IUML MP Haris Beeran (Kerala) called on the government to introduce the Medical Treatment of terminally ill patients (End-of-Life Care) Act, as recommended by the Law Commission, and to mandate palliative care infrastructure at every district hospital and primary health centre.

Mr. Beeran’s remarks came in the wake of a Supreme Court order last week permitting withdrawal of life support for Harish Rana, who had been in a permanent vegetative state for 13 years following an accidental fall in 2013.

A Bench of Justice Jamshed Pardiwala and Justice K.V. Viswanathan reportedly had tears in their eyes while delivering the judgment, telling the patient’s parents they were not giving up on their son but allowing him to live with dignity, he said.

Citing a series of legislative inactions, Mr. Beeran said the Law Commission’s 196th Report in 2006 had examined the issue of passive euthanasia in detail and appended a draft law, but Parliament did not act.

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

The 241st Law Commission Report in 2012 again proposed a draft legislation. A Constitution bench in the Common Cause case in 2018 issued guidelines, noting explicitly they would operate only until Parliament enacted a law. The guidelines were modified in 2023. The latest judgment in 2026 has again expressed hope that Parliament will act.

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

The MP also flagged the financial burden on families, noting that over 65% of all healthcare expenditure in the country is paid entirely out of pocket.

He cited Kerala’s community-based palliative care programme, operational since 2008, as a model for the rest of the country. The programme covers every gram panchayat in the state and integrates over 500 NGOs.