A woman who had approached Delhi High Court with a plea to stop her friend from travelling to Switzerland to undergo euthanasia on account of his debilitating sickness withdrew the petition on Thursday.

The counsel for the petitioner told Justice Yashwant Varma that she was in a “dilemma” and now wishes to withdraw her petition, filed last week.

“I would like to withdraw this petition as I came to know that (my friend) is deeply traumatised after hearing about it. I am afraid that the very purpose of filing this writ may go in vain if I proceed,” the lawyer read out the statement in court, which allowed the petition by the 49-year-old woman to be withdrawn.

The petitioner had sought a directive to the central government not to grant “emigration clearance” to her friend, in his late 40s and suffering from myalgic encephalomyelitis, who was supposed to travel to Switzerland for physician-assisted suicide.

Myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome is a “complex, debilitating, long-term neuroinflammatory disease”. The petitioner’s friend, who had the first symptom of the disease in 2014, is “now completely bed-bound” and can only “walk a few steps inside the home”, the plea had said.

The petitioner had stated that her friend was earlier receiving treatment at AIIMS but it could not be continued during the pandemic due to “donor-availability issues”.

“There are no financial constraints for providing Respondent No. 3 (petitioner’s friend) with better treatments within India or abroad. But he is now adamant about his decision to go for euthanasia, which also affects the life of age-old parents miserably. It is humbly submitted that there still persists a ray of hope for the betterment of his condition,” the plea, filed through advocate Subash Chandran K.R., had said.

The petitioner had said the patient had obtained a visa for Switzerland on the false pretext of getting treatment.

“Petitioner herein most respectfully prayed that this Hon’ble Court may direct Respondent No. 1 (ministry of external affairs) not to grant emigration clearance to Respondent No. 3 as he made false claims before Indian as well as foreign authorities for getting travel permissions; and also direct Respondent No. 2 (ministry of health) to constitute a medical board to examine the medical condition of Respondent No. 3 and provide necessary medical assistance by considering his peculiar health condition,” the plea had said.