Supreme Court seeks Centre’s response on status of implementation of 2017 palliative care guidelines

The Supreme Court on Monday (October 13, 2025) directed the Union Government to file its response within three weeks on the implementation of the 2017 guidelines on palliative care issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Palliative care refers to end-of-life medical support that seeks to alleviate pain and improve the quality of life of patients suffering from terminal or chronic illnesses, while preserving their dignity and autonomy. The 2017 guidelines propose integrating palliative care into India’s public health system through district-level teams and dedicated State palliative care cells.

A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta passed the order while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) petition seeking directions to make palliative care accessible to terminally ill persons as part of the national health programme. The matter will be taken up next on November 25.

“The Additional Solicitor General and the senior counsel appearing for the Union of India are granted three weeks’ time to obtain instructions with regard to the implementation of these guidelines….after collating the respective data from the States”, the Bench said.

Senior advocate Jayna Kothari, appearing for petitioner Dr. Rajshree Nagaraju, submitted that while the Centre had filed a brief affidavit, it had failed to indicate how the guidelines were being implemented. “In fact, the guidelines say that at the district level, you have to set up a palliative care team, and every State has to have a State palliative protection cell. Let them say how many States have set up the cell,” she said.

In March last year, the top court had sought responses from the Centre and others on the plea, which argued that palliative care is integral to the right to health and the right to a dignified end to life, both protected under Article 21 of the Constitution.

“The majority of adults and children who are in need of palliative care have chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases (38.5%), cancer (34%), chronic respiratory diseases (10.3%), AIDS (5.7%), and diabetes (4.6%). Many other conditions may require palliative care, including kidney failure, chronic liver disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, neurological disease, dementia, congenital anomalies, and drug-resistant tuberculosis…”, the petition stated.

Accordingly, a direction was sought for the Centre to develop clear protocols, guidelines and systems for providing palliative care to ensure its effective implementation by the States.