HARM

PRINCIPLE
JOHN STUART MILL
 INTODUCTION
The principle is a central tenet of the political philosophy known as

liberalism and was first proposed by English philosopher John Stuart

Mill. The harm principle is not designed to guide the actions of

individuals but to restrict the scope of criminal law and government

restrictions of personal liberty.

MEANING
The harm principle holds that the actions of individuals John Stua
rt Mill "T
should be limited only to prevent harm to other purpose fo
r which p
he only
be rightfu ower can
individuals. any mem
lly exerci
sed over
ber of a
In other words, a person can do whatever he wants as communit
y, against
civilized
to prevent his will, is
long as his actions do not harm others. harm to ot
hers.

p p r o v e d in
h i s w a s A
T S u p re m e
d i a b y t h e
I n d u l t e ry
t i n I t s ‘ A
C o u r in
J u d g m e n t ' ,
b e r , 2 0 18 .
Septem
 HOW TO DEFINE HARM?

JS Mill, defines harms as wrongful setbacks to interests to which people have rights. He
would argue you wouldn’t be harming anyone by winning a promotion because although
their interests are set back, no particular person has a right to a promotion. If it’s earned on
merit, then it’s fair. “May the best person win”, so to say.

Also, If a person’s actions only affect himself, then society, which includes the government,
should not be able to stop a person from doing what he wants. This even includes actions
that a person may do that would harm the person himself.
 RIGHT TO DIE, SELF HARM!

Harm principle is bascially, a person’s action should not harm

others. in this scenario if a person harms himself the state cannot
interfere in that matter. Here the question arises whether the
person can commit suicide? or does he have right to die?
Section 115(1) of The MHCA was introduced to decrease the veracity of the section 309 of
Indian penal code, 1980 which states that Attempt to commit suicide is criminal. Basically,
S. 115(1) OF MHCA states that attemt to suicide is not criminal hence, if the person tries to
commit suicide he shall not be tried under Section 309 of IPC.
further more the new act BNS remove the whole section 309 of IPC which provides that
Attempt to suicide is no longer a criminal offence.
Analyzing this through the lens of the harm principle, proposed by philosopher John
Stuart Mill, we can see a clear alignment with its principles. The harm principle suggests
that the only justification for interfering with an individual's liberty is to prevent harm to
others. In the case of attempted suicide, there is no direct harm caused to others. The
individual's actions primarily affect themselves.
 Does our law provides
Right to Die?
The right to die is a concept based on the opinion that
human beings are entitled to end their life or undergo
voluntary euthanasia.
In the case of Aruna Shanbaug the supreme established
the notion of passive euthanasia in whichis The right to
die is a concept based on the opinion that human beings
are entitled to end their life or undergo voluntary
euthanasia.
Basically right to die is not a fundamental right, though it
does not harm others but it is the matter of social welfare.
IT'S A WRAP!
The Harm principle serves as a
foundational concept in liberal
theories of government and
individual rights, emphasizing the
importance of autonomy and
minimizing unnecessary interference
by authorities in personal matters.