New Delhi, March 11 -- Before the Harish Rana passive euthanasia case came to light, it was the Aruna Shanbaug case that had gripped the nation. The former nurse had remained in a vegetative state since a brutal sexual assault in 1973. It was only due to her case that the legality of passive euthanasia in rare cases was recognised.

In 2011, the Supreme Court recognised passive euthanasia, and in 2018, while hearing Common Cause v. Union of India, the court detailed guidelines for a living will, allowing terminally-ill patients to withdraw treatment.

While active euthanasia means deliberately injecting a life-ending agent into someone's body, passive euthanasia means withdrawing or withholding life‑support treatments - such as vent...