General U.S. NewsJul 16, 2026·2 min read

SC judgments say state has a duty preserve life of person on indefinite fast without disrupting right to dissent

The Hindu – National

1h ago

SC judgments say state has a duty preserve life of person on indefinite fast without disrupting right to dissent

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Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one. Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription Published - July 16, 2026 09:34 pm IST - NEW DELHI Activist Sonam Wangchuk is on an indefinite hunger strike at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, seeking resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over irregularities in the NEET examination. | Photo Credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap Multiple Supreme Court judgments and orders highlight the state’s paternalistic duty of care to preserve the life of a person on a hunger strike without disrupting his right to dissent. Yet the government has responded to activist Sonam Wanghuk’s ongoing fasting at Jantar Mantar with silence for the past 19 days even as an alarmed Delhi High Court asserted on July 16 that the “life of any citizen is precious”. A series of orders of a Supreme Court Bench headed by Justice Surya Kant, currently the Chief Justice of India, have similarly stressed the constitutional duty and responsibility of the state to ensure that no harm is caused to the life of a person on an indefinite fast. The court had highlighted that both the Union of India and the State of Punjab must take into consideration the age, medical health issues, and the fact that Mr. The Bench had held that it was the “bounden duty of the State of Punjab, the Union of India and other stakeholders to take all necessary measures to provide immediate adequate medical aid to Mr. The Supreme Court has consistently discouraged the Executive from taking a hostile view of persons who want to express their stand by fasting. An indefinite fast by someone protesting a government action or decision cannot be perceived as a threat to public order. “It is a form of protest which has been accepted, both historically and legally in our constitutional jurisprudence… It draws its source from the Satyagraha of Mahatma Gandhi.,” the Supreme Court said, emphasising the duty of the state to reach out and save a life.

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The Union government has responded to activist Sonam Wanghuk’s ongoing fasting at Jantar Mantar with silence for the past 19 days even as an alarmed Delhi High Court asserted on July 16 that the ‘life of any citizen is precious’

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SC judgments say state has a duty preserve life of person on indefinite fast without disrupting right to dissent

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