Legal Current Affairs for 15 March 2026

About: The FHI is a comprehensive framework developed by NITI Aayog to assess and compare the fiscal performance of Indian states.
It evaluates states across five key pillars: Quality of Expenditure, Revenue Mobilisation, Fiscal Prudence, Debt Index, and Debt Sustainability.
The index uses data verified by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), ensuring rigour and transparency.
The goal is to guide reforms, encourage evidence-based policymaking, and enable peer benchmarking across states.

About: The V.O. Chidambaranar Port (formerly Tuticorin Port) is one of India’s 13 major ports, operating as an artificial, all-weather deep-sea port on the Coromandel Coast.
Historical Significance: Originally established as Tuticorin Port, it was declared a major port in July 1974 and renamed in 2011 to honour V.O. Chidambaram Pillai (V.O.C.), freedom fighter and entrepreneur who founded the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company in 1906 to challenge British maritime monopoly.
Strategic Geographical Location: Situated at Thoothukudi (Tuticorin), Tamil Nadu in the Gulf of Mannar, the port enjoys a strategic position near the East-West international sea routes.
Operational Significance and Rankings: It ranks as the 2nd-largest port in Tamil Nadu (after Chennai port) and the 3rd-largest container terminal in India, serving as a crucial gateway for trade with the Mediterranean, Europe, and the United States, handling diverse cargo including containers, coal, salt, and fertilisers.

The SC defined a living will (advance medical directive) in the Common Cause v. Union of India (2018) as a written document that allows a patient to give explicit instructions in advance about the medical treatment to be administered when he or she is terminally ill or no longer able to express informed consent. It includes authorising their families to switch off life support in case a medical board declared that they were beyond medical help.
The ruling significantly expanded patient autonomy by allowing individuals to retain control over end-of-life medical decisions even when they cannot communicate their wishes.

About: Euthanasia is the deliberate, intentional act of ending a person’s life in order to relieve them from persistent, unbearable suffering caused by an incurable or terminal illness, a condition of irreversible coma, or a persistent vegetative state.
The term derives from Greek roots meaning “good death” (eu for good and thanatos for death) and is often framed as an act of mercy aimed at preserving dignity in the final stages of life.
Classifications: It is primarily classified into two forms i.e., Active Euthanasia (a deliberate act, such as a lethal injection, to cause death) and Passive Euthanasia (withholding or withdrawing of life-sustaining medical treatment, allowing natural death to occur). These are further divided based on consent:
Voluntary: Performed with the patient’s explicit consent.
Non-voluntary: Performed when the patient is incompetent to consent (e.g., coma).
Involuntary: Performed without the patient’s consent, which is widely illegal.

Maruti Shripati Dubal v. State of Maharashtra (1987): The Bombay High Court ruled that the right to die is inherent in Article 21 (Right to Life), permitting terminally ill patients or those in persistent severe pain to end their lives.
Gian Kaur v. State of Punjab (1996): The SC reversed the above ruling and held that the right to life does not include the right to die, and emphasized the preservation of life.
Aruna Shanbaug v. Union of India (2011): SC permitted passive euthanasia under strict legal and medical safeguards, even for patients unable to consent, marking a significant shift.
Common Cause v. Union of India (2018): SC recognized the right to die with dignity, distinguished active euthanasia (not permitted) from passive euthanasia (permitted), and legally validated living wills (advance medical directives).

About: Fireflies, often mistaken for flies or bugs, are actually soft-bodied beetles belonging to the family Lampyridae, within the order Coleoptera (beetles). They are renowned for their remarkable ability to produce light through bioluminescence.
Bioluminescence Mechanism: The light is produced due to a chemical reaction involving the substrate luciferin, the enzyme luciferase, oxygen, and adenosine triphosphate (ATP). They possess a light-emitting organ called a photophore on the underside of their abdomen.
The reaction produces “cold light” that is nearly 100% energy-efficient, generating virtually no heat. The light is typically yellow-green.
Purpose of Bioluminescence: The primary function of bioluminescence in adult fireflies is mating communication, with each species possessing a unique flash pattern.
In larvae (known as glowworms), the light serves as a warning signal (aposematism) to predators indicating distastefulness.