The Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics, NLSIU, is organising a consultation, Beyond Cure: Palliative Care in India, that seeks to bring together experts from law, medicine, public health, ethics, and civil society to deliberate on the most pressing questions in this domain. The Centre has undertaken a substantial review of the legislative, judicial, policy, and ethical dimensions of palliative care in India. This research will be distilled into a policy brief that will serve as the anchor document for the consultation, framing the key questions and orienting deliberation across three thematic panels.

Registration for the event is mandatory; register here.

Consultation Agenda

Introduction | 10:00 to 10:05 AM

By Dr Madhubanti Sadhya, Assistant Professor of Law, NLSIU

Panel 1: Legislative and Judicial Terrain | 10:05 to 11:30 AM

This panel will examine the constitutional and international law foundations of palliative care; the legal framework governing end-of-life decision-making, and the lessons India may draw from comparative experience.

Discussant:

• Dr Raj Kumar Mani, Director, Clinical Services, Pulmonology and Critical Care, Yashoda Super Speciality Hospital, Kaushambi

Panellists:

• Dr Vipul Mudgal, Director and Chief Executive, Common Cause
• Rituparna Padhy, Senior Resident Fellow, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy
• Rashmi Nandakumar, Advocate on Record, Supreme Court of India

Moderator:

• Bhanu Tanwar, Assistant Professor of Law, NLSIU

Panel 2: Policy Design and Implementation | 11:45 – 1:15 PM

This panel will engage with the structural, fiscal, and institutional failures in the delivery of palliative care – from the non-implementation of the NPPC to the specific challenges of home-based care, workforce capacity, and equitable access. The focus is on what actionable reform looks like.

Discussant:

• Dr Nandini Vallath, Professor and Head, Department of Pain and Palliative Medicine, St. John’s National Academy of Health Sciences, Bengaluru

Panellists:

• Dr Prakash Fernandes, Head, Palliative Partnerships, Cipla Foundation
• Dr Yaduraj Gowda, Head of Department, Department of Pain and Palliative Medicine, Kidwai
• Memorial Institute of Oncology, Bengaluru
• Smriti Rana, Director – Strategic Communications, Pallium India
• Dr Ravinder Mohan, NDPS Advisor, CanSupport

Moderator:
Dr Madhubanti Sadhya, Assistant Professor of Law, NLSIU

Lunch | 1:15 – 2:00 PM

Panel 3: Ethical and Social Dimensions | 2:00 – 3:30 PM

This panel will deliberate on foundational questions that cut across law, policy and ethics – the meaning of dying with dignity; the appropriate standards of care for patients with diminished decision-making capacity; the tension between patient autonomy and patriarchal family structures; and the role of the state and civil society in addressing cultural and spiritual stigma around terminal illness.

Discussant:

• Dr Priya Thomas, Professor, Department of Psychiatric Social Work (Neurology), National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru

Panellists:

• Dr Babita Varkey, Director, Clinical Services, Karunashraya Bangalore Hospice Trust, Bengaluru
• Dr Rajani Surendra Bhat, Pulmonologist & Palliative Medicine Physician, Sparsh Hospital, Bengaluru
• Dr Manjula BV, Trustee & Secretary, Pain Relief and Palliative Care Society, Hyderabad
• Dr Seema Rajesh Rao, Director & Consultant in Palliative Medicine, Manipal Hospice and Respite Center, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, MAHE, Manipal

Moderator:

• Dr Madhubanti Sadhya, Assistant Professor of Law, NLSIU

Discussion on CLPHE, Policy Brief | 3:45 – 4:30 pm

Vote of thanks by Bhanu Tanwar, Assistant Professor of Law | 4:30 pm

For any information, please contact Dr Madhubanti Sadhya at or Bhanu Tanwar at .