Dec 11 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)
Goodbye Sec 309
Decriminalising suicide is an excellent move, government should delete other outdated laws
The government's move to delete the legal statute that criminalises attempted suicide is a welcome step forward in a heated and seemingly interminable legal debate that has raged at least since 1981. That was when Delhi high court first condemned Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code as “unworthy of society“. A two-judge bench of the Supreme Court in 1994 went so far as to call it “irrational and cruel and hence void“, before a five-judge constitutional bench of the apex court subsequently overruled these judgments and reinstated the law in the 1996 Gian Kaur vs State of Punjab case. The government's landmark decision not to treat attempted suicides as crimes is a sensitive and humane step.In a country where suicides have emerged as the second highest cause of deaths, this was a much-needed legal corrective. The Law Commission has repeatedly argued in favour of this, saying in 2008 that people who try and take their lives need compassion and emotional support. Decriminalisation would make it “easier for all of us to extend our hands and support in reducing suicides in India“. This paper has consistently advocated in favour of this position and in support of euthanasia as long as it is uncoerced. As the Supreme Court held in 1994, the right to life and liberty, under Article 21 of the Constitution, must also be interpreted to include the right to die.
Internationally , France was the first country to decriminalise attempted suicide after the French Revolution. All European and North American countries subsequently followed suit and India is now catching up. But that's only relatively speaking, because in another sense India's been here much before. Many Indic religions, such as Jainism and Hinduism, have ancient traditions of voluntary ending of one's life when it is seen as having served its purpose.
Now that this outdated relic of colonial law has been removed, government must go ahead and proactively remove other illiberal laws which get in the way of people's lives. One such is the draconian Section 66A of the IT Act, which makes sending any message deemed to be “offensive“ on any communication device a punishable offence.Unless this is done innocent people will continue to be punished and the justice system remain clogged.
Internationally , France was the first country to decriminalise attempted suicide after the French Revolution. All European and North American countries subsequently followed suit and India is now catching up. But that's only relatively speaking, because in another sense India's been here much before. Many Indic religions, such as Jainism and Hinduism, have ancient traditions of voluntary ending of one's life when it is seen as having served its purpose.
Now that this outdated relic of colonial law has been removed, government must go ahead and proactively remove other illiberal laws which get in the way of people's lives. One such is the draconian Section 66A of the IT Act, which makes sending any message deemed to be “offensive“ on any communication device a punishable offence.Unless this is done innocent people will continue to be punished and the justice system remain clogged.
