The attempts at taking one's own life are not considered to fall under purview of constitutional right to life. While the constitution covers the right to life or liberty, it does not include the ‘right to die’. LEGAL STATUS OF ATTEMPTED SUICIDE: INDIAN SCENARIOĪccording to Article 21 of the Indian constitution, “No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by the law”. It was felt that the physician-assisted suicide/euthanasia is a subject for separate discussion and is out of scope for present paper. For the same, a review of published scientific literature was undertaken and the information from some Indian sources/reports was incorporated. The article reviews the Indian and international legal perspective of attempted suicide, discusses the unintended consequences of section 309 IPC and highlights the need for decriminalization of attempted suicide in India. The philosophical dilemmas surrounding the individual's right to life and death has been debated, albeit inconclusively, across several disciplines with differing outlook and perspectives. Essentially, people who attempt suicide are in need of help rather than punishment in view of association with a high psychiatric or psychological morbidity. Other risk factors are childhood adversities such as sexual/physical abuse, abuse of alcohol or drugs, stressful life events such as death of a loved one, loss of a job or relationship, financial bankruptcy, imminent criminal prosecution and suffering from, or having recently been diagnosed with, a terminal illness. Risk factors for non-fatal suicide attempts by adults or youth include depression and other mental disorders. Research suggests that psychiatric illness constitutes a major cause for nonfatal suicidal behavior. Till date, suicide continues to be a criminal offense. The recently drafted Mental Health Care Bill, 2013, introduced to the Rajya Sabha (upper house), makes an attempt to rectify it but is still under consideration. Most countries across the world no longer criminalize the suicidal attempts, however India has continued to hold it as a punishable offence. ![]() Of all those who engage in non-fatal suicidal behaviors, one-third repeat the behavior within a year and nearly 10% eventually commit suicide. ![]() Attempted suicide are at least 20 times more common than the completed suicide. The number of suicides in the country during the decade (2002-2012) has recorded an increase of 22.7% (1,35,445 in 2012 from 1,10,417 in 2002). More than one lakh persons (1,35,445) in India lost their lives by committing suicide in the year 2012 alone. Suicide attempt can be defined as a non-fatal self-directed potentially injurious behavior with an intent to die.
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