A PARADIGM SHIFT OF RIGHT TO DIGNIFIED DEATH IN THE INDIAN JUDICIARY- CONSTITUTION AND HUMAN RIGHTS PERSPECTIVE

Abstract The Supreme Court of India has raised a whirlpool of dynamism in the recent past with many of the progressive judgments, whether it is triple talak, right to privacy, right to chose one’s life partner or right to dignified death. The court has left no stone unturned in bringing a revolutionary change in the Indian Society. The common feature in all these precedents is the respect for human dignity. The productive interpretation of Article 21 1 by the Supreme Court of India has brought many rights within the ambit of right to life and has made it clear that right to life does not mean mere animal existence, but it includes a dignified and qualitative life. A person must be provided with minimum dignity and should be to allowed to end his life if the state of existence falls below that minimum level. In cases like this, emphasis should be put more on relieving the suffering than preserving a life full of agony. Personal liberty should be such which gives freedom to a person to deal with his body in the manner in which he wants.