According to a petition filed before the court on Wednesday, the man has been suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome since 2014 and is allegedly planning to travel to Switzerland for a physician-assisted suicide.
When the Delhi High Court reopens next week after a week-long break, it will be called upon to decide on a unique case. A 49-year-old woman from Bengaluru wants the court to stop her friend, a Noida-based 48-year-old man with a debilitating health condition, from travelling to Europe allegedly to undergo assisted suicide or euthanasia — an option not available in India to a person who is not terminally ill.
According to a petition filed before the court on Wednesday, the man has been suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome since 2014 and is allegedly planning to travel to Switzerland for a physician-assisted suicide. The woman, who has described herself as a close friend of the patient, has pleaded that his parents, other family members and friends would suffer “irreparable loss” and “hardship” if the plea to halt his travel is not allowed.
The Noida resident, according to the petition, was undergoing a method of treatment called Fecal Microbiota Transplantation in AIIMS for his condition but could not continue in the pandemic situation due “to donor availability issues”. The petition said that his symptoms started in 2014 and his condition deteriorated over the past eight years, making him “completely bed bound and just able to walk a few steps inside home”.
