From Twinkle Khanna’s new book: An elderly woman emails the CJI for a ‘nice cut-off’ age to die

Dear Chief Justice
4.06.2017

I hope you are in good health. My name is Madhura Desai and I am an eighty-six-year-old retired schoolteacher. I have a petition that I would like to present to you. Being of sound mind and without any external pressure, I want to avail myself of a fundamental right, one overlooked in the Constitution – the right to die. I am seeking permission for active euthanasia, a hospital-assisted suicide.

I have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s and I have recently suffered what, in layman’s terms, is called a ministroke. I am aware that this is not a terminal disease, but the road ahead is clear. Before it progresses to the point where I become a burden, it would be better to end this journey at a time of my choosing.

At my age, she added, and then, recalling that the chief justice was nearly eighty, amended it. At our age, how many years do we have left and what lies ahead aside from illness and suffering? In fact, my advice to you would also be to follow the same path. Not right away, of course, but perhaps when you reach eighty-five. It is a nice cut-off age.

She considered deleting the last paragraph. What...

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