New Delhi: In a significant decision, the Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed passive euthanasia for Harish Rana, a 31-year-old man from Ghaziabad who has been in a permanent vegetative state for nearly 13 years after suffering severe head injuries in an accident.
Advocate Manish Jain, representing Rana’s family, said the court has granted permission to withdraw life-sustaining treatment and allow him to remain in a natural state.
“Harish Rana’s petition has been allowed. Permission has been granted to let him remain in a natural state, meaning all tubes and advanced life support systems will be removed,” Jain told IANS.
He added that Rana will continue to remain under medical care at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi. “He will remain at AIIMS, which will take robust care of him for as long as he lives,” the lawyer said.
Rana has been in a vegetative state since 2013 after falling from the fourth floor while he was a student, resulting in severe head injuries.
Jain also noted that Rana’s family had pursued every possible treatment over the years but there had been no recovery. “It has been 13 years. Everything possible was done, but there was no recovery. The Supreme Court has now allowed passive euthanasia so that he can remain in a natural state,” he said.
With doctors confirming his condition as irreversible, the family approached the Supreme Court seeking permission for passive euthanasia.
The decision is being viewed as a landmark development and one of the first instances where passive euthanasia has been permitted in India under judicial oversight.
The Supreme Court’s ruling came after careful consideration of medical reports and legal guidelines governing end-of-life care.
A Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K.V. Viswanathan allowed the plea filed by Rana’s family, permitting the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment.
The court observed that the medical Board may exercise its clinical judgment in accordance with the guidelines laid down by the apex court in its landmark 2018 judgment in Common Cause vs Union of India, which recognised passive euthanasia and the right to die with dignity.
Allowing the petition, the Justice Pardiwala-led Bench directed that Rana be admitted to the palliative care unit at AIIMS, New Delhi, where the process of withdrawal of medical treatment will be carried out under medical supervision.
“In our considered view, it would be permissible for the medical Board to exercise its clinical judgment regarding the withdrawal of treatment in accordance with the guidelines laid down in Common Cause vs Union of India,” the apex court said.
According to medical records, Rana has been in a permanent vegetative state with 100 per cent disability and quadriplegia, requiring continuous medical assistance for breathing, feeding and daily care since the accident nearly 13 years ago.
(IANS)
