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pave theway for the release of human rights activist Irom Sharmila, who has been onhunger strike for the past 14 years.

Law Commission of India, in its 210th Report, had recommended that Section 309 (attempt to Commit suicide) of IPC should be decriminalised. - HMO India (@HMOIndia) December 10, 2014

Attempting suicide will no longer be a crime, the government said in Parliament today.A person who survives a suicide attempt is punished with a one-year jail term and a fine under a rule in the Indian Penal Code that will now be scrapped on a recommendation from the Law Commission.The move will18 states and four Union Territories have backed the move, according to an official statement."Keeping in view the responses from the States/UTs, it has been decided to delete Section 309 of IPC from the Statute book," Minister of State for Home Affairs, Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary, said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.Later, Home Minister Rajnath Singh also tweeted:A bill to clear the change has to be passed in the Rajya Sabha before it can be enforced.The home ministry had said in August that the process of "decriminalizing" suicide was under way and all states had been asked to give their opinion, as they have jurisdiction over crime.The Law Commission has reportedly said attempting suicide is the "manifestation of a diseased condition of mind" that needs treatment and care rather than punishment.Critics of the law say that it is cruel to punish a person who has been driven to desperation and has failed in his attempt to end his life.States that have opposed the move have argued that it is difficult to stop people who sit on fast or try to set themselves on fire as a form of protest, and scrapping punishment will only weaken the hand of cops trying to check such protesters.

Irom Sharmila, who has been on a protest fast against army atrocities in her state Manipur, has been in detention throughout and is force-fed by tubes several times a day.The World Health Organization has listed India as one of the countries with the highest suicide rates - 21.1 per 100,000 people in 2012.