Did you know that attempt to commit suicide is punishable in India at present? It is… under section 309 of the Indian Penal Code. But now the Law Commission has proposed to delete the section thereby decriminalizing the act of suicide attempt.

The Law Commission had recommended this reform way back in 1971 and had also got government’s nod. But somehow the move fell through in 1972. The Section 309 was challenged in the Supreme Court in many cases as well. In 1994, SC had in one case termed the section as unconstitutional; but then later a five-judge bench set-aside the decision upholding the constitutional validity of the provision.

Justice Lakshmanan, Chairman of the Law Commission along with other members observed that there is no gain to punish a person, who under extreme duress attempts to end his life, albeit unsuccessfully.

“Life does not mean mere animal existence”, Supreme Court has observed in plethora of cases and this view got a deserving support from the country’s Law Commission, when it decided on June 29 that they would further the recommendation of legalizing euthanasia (mercy Killing) in favour of those who are terminally ill.

The Law Commission makes sense when it observes in its reports, “If a person is unable to take normal care of his body or has lost all the senses and if his real desire is to quit the world, he cannot be compelled to continue with torture and painful life. In such cases, it will indeed be cruel not to permit him to die”.

Thus premature termination of one’s life to relieve him from long suffering could be possible if government decides to act on the report, to be submitted to it soon.