The Centre on Tuesday told the Delhi High Court that an individual’s right to bodily autonomy, though constitutionally protected, cannot be treated as absolute when public order and larger public interest are at stake.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta made the submission while opposing a plea seeking the transfer of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk from Safdarjung Hospital to a private medical facility of his choice.
The Centre argued that Wangchuk’s right to choose the place and manner of his medical treatment must be balanced against the State’s obligation to protect his life and prevent any possible law-and-order situation arising from the prolonged hunger strike.
The submission came during proceedings concerning Wangchuk’s hospitalisation after his health reportedly deteriorated following an extended fast. His wife, Gitanjali Angmo, had approached the Delhi High Court seeking his transfer to a private hospital, contending that he should be permitted to exercise decisional autonomy over his medical treatment.
The Centre, however, maintained that the State could intervene in exceptional circumstances where an individual’s medical condition posed wider public-order concerns. The government submitted that the issue could not be examined solely through the prism of individual autonomy, particularly when the consequences of the situation could have ramifications beyond the individual concerned.
The proceedings also involved arguments on whether Wangchuk’s transfer to Safdarjung Hospital amounted to an infringement of his fundamental rights. The Centre maintained that the hospitalisation was undertaken in view of his deteriorating health and was not an act of detention.
The legal debate before the High Court consequently centred on the interplay between the right to bodily autonomy and the State’s duty to preserve life and maintain public order. The Centre urged the Court to adopt a broader constitutional perspective while assessing the challenge to Wangchuk’s hospitalisation.
The case has drawn attention to the limits of individual decisional autonomy in situations where a person’s medical condition, prolonged hunger strike and the possibility of public unrest intersect with the State’s constitutional obligations.
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