UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Why did the SC allow passive euthanasia?

Q1. With reference to the constitutional basis of passive euthanasia in India, consider the following statements. Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

1. Passive euthanasia draws its constitutional sanction from the right to live with dignity read into Article 21.
2. The right to die with dignity was declared a fundamental right by a five-judge Constitution Bench in Common Cause v. Union of India (2018).
3. Active euthanasia was also held by the Supreme Court to be a facet of Article 21.
4. Passive euthanasia was first judicially recognised in India in the 2011 Aruna Shanbaug ruling.

• A. 1, 2 and 4
• B. 1, 3 and 4
• C. 2 and 3 only
• D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q2. How many judges constituted the Constitution Bench in Common Cause v. Union of India (2018), which declared the right to die with dignity a fundamental right?

• A. Three
• B. Five
• C. Seven
• D. Nine

Q3. In which year did the Supreme Court first legally recognise passive euthanasia in India, in the Aruna Shanbaug case?

• A. 2009
• B. 2011
• C. 2014
• D. 2018

Q4. Which one of the following marked the first actual judicial application of passive euthanasia (as distinct from its recognition or framework-building) in India?

• A. Aruna Shanbaug v. Union of India
• B. Common Cause v. Union of India
• C. The Harish Rana case (2026)
• D. Gian Kaur v. State of Punjab

Q5. With reference to the distinction between active and passive euthanasia in India, consider the following statements. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. Active euthanasia involves a positive act introducing an external agency of death, whereas passive euthanasia withdraws life support and allows the underlying condition to cause death.
2. Both active and passive euthanasia are legal in India under court-prescribed safeguards.
3. Active euthanasia attracts liability under India's penal law, while passive euthanasia is permitted under safeguards.

• A. 1 and 2 only
• B. 1 and 3 only
• C. 2 and 3 only
• D. 1, 2 and 3

Q6. Consider the following features attributed to passive euthanasia as permitted in India. Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

1. It may include withdrawal of clinically administered nutrition, recognised as medical treatment in the Harish Rana case.
2. It is permissible for a patient in a persistent vegetative state.
3. It is effected by administering a lethal substance to hasten death.
4. It requires that continued treatment be deemed futile and not in the patient's best interest.

• A. 1 and 2
• B. 2 and 4
• C. 3 only
• D. 3 and 4

Q7. Which one of the following judgments first conferred legal validity on advance medical directives (living wills) in India?

• A. Aruna Shanbaug v. Union of India (2011)
• B. Common Cause v. Union of India (2018)
• C. Gian Kaur v. State of Punjab (1996)
• D. The Harish Rana case (2026)

Q8. Under the original 2018 Supreme Court procedure for executing a living will (later dispensed with by the 2023 revision), whose counter-signature was required on the document?

• A. Judicial Magistrate First Class
• B. District Collector
• C. Chief Medical Officer
• D. Notary Public

Q9. In the Harish Rana case (2026), what did the Supreme Court, for the first time, recognise as 'medical treatment' and therefore eligible for withdrawal?

• A. Clinically administered nutrition and hydration
• B. Mechanical ventilation
• C. Renal dialysis
• D. Antibiotic therapy

Q10. Comparing the 2018 framework with its 2023 revision on passive euthanasia, consider the following statements. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. The 2018 framework required counter-signature of the living will by a Judicial Magistrate First Class, a requirement removed by the 2023 revision.
2. The 2023 revision introduced a 48-hour timeframe within which the medical boards must decide on withdrawal of treatment.
3. The 2023 revision dispensed with the requirement of any medical board.

• A. 1 and 2 only
• B. 1 and 3 only
• C. 2 and 3 only
• D. 1, 2 and 3

Q11. With the 2026 verdict, India became which number country in the world to allow passive euthanasia?

• A. 72nd
• B. 78th
• C. 82nd
• D. 90th

Q12. The widely cited framework of biomedical ethics relevant to end-of-life decisions (autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice) rests on how many core principles?

• A. Three
• B. Four
• C. Five
• D. Six