A Puranpur woman's search for love ended in a second marriage after the first ended in a divorce. The 30-year-old woman, with much faith and hope, got married to a 55-year-old man. What she couldn’t have ever imagined seemed to be written in her fate as her 28-year-old stepson approached her for an illicit relationship with sexual favours in April. Her refusal only ended in being sexually assaulted continuously, mercilessly by her stepson. He dared to threaten her with supposed “consequences” after traumatizing her.
In a twist of fate, she became pregnant and desired to have a DNA test but she was kicked and forced into abortion. July 18 saw a horrendous turn of events as she was taken to her husband’s friend’s farmhouse and gang-raped by his colleagues and one of her relatives.
Despite the troubled plea of the woman, the local police failed to take action. Knocking on the doors of the court, the woman received some hope of justice when the court issued orders to the local Puranpur Kotwali police station. The 5 accused having been booked under IPC sections 376-D (gang-rape), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult), and 506 (criminal intimidation)- remain unarrested. They roam freely while flinging threats to the woman for disclosing the truth and proceeding with action against them.
In a statement by Superintendent Dinesh Kumar Prabhu, he says that this stands to be a complicated case with multiple layers of facts and evidence enrobing the truth. A fair investigation is being held to be completed soon and followed by suitable action.
The threats from the freely roaming accused seemed to be the last straw for the woman who has broken down after facing such inhuman treatment at the behest of her people. A letter dated 20th October by the woman lies in wait for a response from the New President of India, Draupadi Murmu. The woman wrote to the President of the country stating that she has “lost all hope for justice”. She expressed her dismay in the letter- “I have struggled enough and don't think I will get any justice. So, I want to end my life with your permission.”
The President of India, Draupadi Murmu
The woman requests a grant for use of Euthanasia in a country like India where it still fails to be legalized. Her trauma shall not be invalidated and her desire to have death befall her shall be her only means of putting an end to her misery. This remains a highly controversial topic.
The word euthanasia is derived from the Greek words "eu" and "thanatos" meaning "good" and "death" respectively. Euthanasia is the intentional practice of ending someone’s life to put an end to their sorrows and sufferings. It can either be active- injecting lethal substances or forces and causing death through direct intervention or passive- withdrawal of life-supporting sources/measures or withholding medical treatment to cause death, a relief from the pain the “patient” feels.
Although it remains highly controversial as it is a person’s choice to continue or stop their life, it is considered suicide in some cases, and the third party becomes liable for prosecution for assisting the suicide. “A person cannot be forced to continue living, when he suffers from a serious and incurable disease that causes intense suffering, and has made the autonomous decision to end his existence in the face of conditions that he considers incompatible with his conception of a dignified life,” a Colombian Constitutional Court had once stated.
The Indian legal body puts euthanasia under the frame of a crime through sections 302(murder) and 304(culpable homicide not attempting to murder). Physician-assisted suicide remains an offence under 306 IPC (Abetment to suicide).
A milestone in the legal structure of India by a five-judge bench of the apex court headed by the Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and comprising Justices A.K. Sikri, A.M. Khanwilkar, D.Y. Chandrachud, and Ashok Bhushan- the Supreme Court on March 9, 2018, allowed passive euthanasia in India noting that death with dignity was a fundamental right as the patient’s “living will”.
Recognition of the right to die with dignity in 2018(Live Law)
The clouds might have drifted from above India with this decision but curbing the reasons that lead to the desire for Euthanasia requires more work to simplify the roots. If victims of crimes are simply subjected to euthanasia out of the distress that the statutory framework is crumbling and failing to hold the accused accountable- it wouldn’t be a milestone but rather a gravestone of the ethical and legal spirit of the country. Failure of the legal system shall never cause a citizen to feel traumatic and unsafe, leading to a request for assisted voluntary death.
The chilling part seems to be that euthanasia remains to be permitted only to physically, terminally-ill patients, not to those with mental trauma and emotional dissonance. If the Indian court truly stands unable to understand the complications of such situations as exceptions to the law, there might soon be more recommended amendments.
A perfect response to the plea would be torture to the accused and satisfying legal justice, no matter what the woman decides to do next with her life. If this case is not handled satisfactorily by the police and the courts, it shall become a huge controversy and disruption of the woman’s will, spirit, and life.
Netherlands, Belgium, Oregon, and Switzerland permit legal assisted suicide. Euthanasia remains illegal in the UK but its application is vague like that of India- passive Euthanasia is permitted, but active Euthanasia is prohibited. Studies in the Dutch areas revealed the concept of “control over time and manner of death” as the central focal point for requests for Euthanasia. The patients felt more comfortable having access to a decision of choice where they could choose when they would like to die and how hopefully surrounded by loved ones.
An argument frequently presented against the legalization of Euthanasia is that when the pain, suffering, or symptoms of a person are controlled with the necessary care and equipment, they might change their outlook.
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