The top court permits passive euthanasia for a former engineering student after medical reports confirm no chance of recovery
New Delhi: In a deeply emotional and legally significant decision, the Supreme Court of India on Tuesday allowed euthanasia for Harish Rana, a young man who has remained in a coma for nearly 13 years following a devastating accident.
The court approved the plea filed by Rana’s elderly parents, who had approached the judiciary after years of medical struggle, stating that their son had no realistic chance of recovery and continued to exist in a state of complete physical dependence.
Engineering Student’s Life Changed by Tragic Fall
Harish Rana, who was pursuing a civil engineering degree at Chandigarh University, suffered severe head injuries after falling from the fourth-floor balcony of his PG hostel on August 20, 2013.
The accident left him with catastrophic brain damage, placing him in a permanent vegetative state.
Since then, Rana has been entirely dependent on a tracheostomy tube for breathing and a gastrostomy tube for nutrition, requiring constant medical support and care.
Parents’ Long Legal and Emotional Struggle
For more than a decade, Rana’s parents remained by his side, hoping for improvement. The family even sold their house in Delhi and relocated to Ghaziabad to stay closer to him while he received treatment at All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
However, after years of medical consultations and continued deterioration in his condition, the family finally sought legal permission for euthanasia, arguing that prolonging his life artificially was causing prolonged suffering.
AIIMS Medical Report Influences Court Decision
A medical assessment submitted by AIIMS concluded that Rana’s condition was irreversible and that recovery was extremely unlikely.
Hearing the case, Justice J. B. Pardiwala described the medical findings as deeply distressing.
“This is a very painful situation. It is an extremely sad report. But we cannot allow the young man to remain in such distress. The time has come for us to take a final decision,” Justice Pardiwala observed.
Based on the medical evidence and humanitarian considerations, the court granted permission for passive euthanasia, allowing life-support measures to be withdrawn under regulated procedures.
Legal Background of Euthanasia in India
The legal framework for euthanasia in India has evolved through landmark judgments of the Supreme Court of India.
The court first recognised passive euthanasia in the Aruna Shanbaug case, which involved a nurse who remained in a vegetative state for decades after a brutal assault.
Later, the landmark Common Cause vs Union of India ruling formally legalised passive euthanasia and living wills, establishing guidelines for withdrawing life-support in terminal or irreversible medical conditions.
