The Constitution Of India gives us one of the most important fundamental right i.e. Right to Life under Art. 21 in Part –III. Right to life is a right which makes other fundamental rights work; hence it becomes one of the most important and essential right. Santhara is a ritual which is followed by the Jain Community as one of the purest practise where one takes vow to refuse food and water till death. Rajasthan High Court has already banned on this rituals in the case of Nikhil Soni vs. Union of India and also considered it as a form of suicide and also held that other who abet such practices shall be consider as abettor to the same. This has raised the debates and agitation by the Jain Community at large.
Now this practice can be considered at par with the Constitution of India and also against the Constitution of India as Indian Constitution also gives us the fundamental Right regarding freedom of religion. Santhara which is very much associated with religious practise in Jain Community can be considered proper as per freedom of religion. But the most important fundamental right i.e. Right to Life enshrined under Article 21 also gets violated through such practise. This debate also leads further with Euthanasia. Hence if something a person acquires by chance, how can he refuse such thing by choice. If life is given naturally then how one can simply end his/her life by choice? Santhara is the practise of refusing the natural gift of life by choice by following the norms established under Jain community. At some extent religious freedom is given through such fundamental right but Right to life has the widen scope in comparison against the religious practise of Santhara
Priyank Jagawanshi
Assistant Professor of Law
Indian Institute of Legal Studies, Siliguri
