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Informist, Wednesday, Mar. 11, 2026

 

NEW DELHI – In the first judicial order of its kind in India, the Supreme Court Wednesday allowed passive euthanasia for a 32-year-old man, Harish Rana, who has been in a vegetative state for more than a decade. The court said it had been conclusively determined that continued administration of medical treatment to Rana was no longer in his "best interests".

 

"In light of the unanimous consensus arrived at by the parents/next of kin and the constituted medical boards, respectively, we are of the opinion that the medical treatment ought not to be prolonged any further," the court said. Where the patient is diagnosed with a terminal illness or is in a permanent vegetative state with no hope of recovery and the continuation of treatment merely prolongs his biological existence without any therapeutic benefit, the doctor's duty no longer mandates continuing with the medical treatment, it said.

 

The Supreme Court said that in 2018 it had ruled that withdrawing or withholding medical treatment was permissible under Article 21 of the Constitution, provided such action is exercised in the best interests of the patient. Withdrawal or withholding of medical treatment, when carried out in the patient's best interests, does not constitute a breach of the doctor's duty to provide care, it said.

 

For 13 years, Rana has lived a life defined by pain and suffering, the court noted. The suffering was made all the more cruel by the fact that, unlike most people, he was stripped of the ability to even give voice to his anguish. The decision to allow passive euthanasia is not about choosing death but rather about ending the artificial prolonging of life, it said. It is a decision to withdraw life-sustaining treatment when that treatment no longer heals, restores, or meaningfully improves life. It is about letting nature take its course when medicine can only delay the inevitable, the court said, adding that survival is not always the same as living.

 

"To Harish's family, we want to acknowledge the deep emotional weight this decision carries," said the bench of Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice K.V. Viswanathan. "This decision can feel like an act of surrender, but we believe it is, in truth, an act of profound compassion and courage. You are not giving up on your son. You are allowing him to leave with dignity. It reflects the depth of your selfless love and devotion towards him."

 

Rana was pursuing a Bachelor of Technology degree at Panjab University. At 20 years of age, he fell from his fourth-floor paying guest accommodation and sustained a diffuse axonal injury, a type of traumatic brain injury characterised by widespread white matter disruption resulting from rapid acceleration and deceleration forces, according to the website of the US National Institutes of Health. Ever since the accident, he had been on tracheostomy, urinary catheter, and clinically assisted nutrition and hydration administered through the percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube.

 

Rana's medical reports have indicated that he exhibits no evidence of awareness of his environment and is incapable of interacting with others. He also does not indicate by any facial gesture, sound, or body movement if he is hungry, has soiled himself, or is in any other sort of discomfort.

 

Rana's parents said they had been taking care of their child for more than 13 years and they, along with the doctors, had done everything within their power to alleviate his condition. However, there has been no improvement in his condition and they had begun to worry about who would take care of him if anything were to happen to either of them due to old age. They said their son was suffering immensely and should be released from all further pain and suffering.  End

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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