In landmark first, SC allows passive euthanasia for 32-year-old man in coma for over 12 years

The Supreme Court allowed passive euthanasia for 32-year-old Harish Rana, in a coma for over 12 years, permitting withdrawal of artificial life support at AIIMS-Delhi. The order follows 2018 and 2023 guidelines upholding the right to die with dignity under Article 21

New Delhi: In its first-ever order allowing passive euthanasia, the Supreme Court on Wednesday permitted the withdrawal of artificial life support of a 32-year-old man who has been in a comatose condition for more than 12 years.

Passive euthanasia is the intentional act of letting a patient die by withholding or withdrawing life support or the treatment necessary to keep him alive.

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Ghaziabad native Harish Rana, who was a student of Panjab University, suffered head injuries after falling from the fourth floor of his paying guest accommodation in 2013 and has been in a coma for over a decade.

On Wednesday, a bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and K V Viswanathan directed AIIMS-Delhi to grant admission in palliative care to Rana so that the medical treatment can be withdrawn. It must be ensured that it is withdrawn with a tailored plan so that dignity is maintained, the bench said.

The order allowing passive euthanasia is in terms of its 2018 Common Cause judgment, which was modified in 2023, recognising the fundamental right to die with dignity.

In the 2018 judgement, a constitution bench had recognised passive euthanasia and the right to die with dignity as a fundamental right under Article 21. The court had held that passive euthanasia could be carried out using “Advance Medical Directives”.

On January 24, 2023, a five-judge Constitution Bench modified the 2018 Euthanasia Guidelines to ease the process of granting passive euthanasia to terminally ill patients.

Hearing the writ petition of Rana’s family, the top court had earlier expressed its desire to meet the parents of the 32-year-old man. It had perused a report on Rana’s medical history filed by a secondary medical board of doctors from the AIIMS-Delhi and remarked that it was a “sad” report.

The primary medical board, upon examining the patient’s condition, had stressed the negligible chance of his recovery.

The top court, on December 11, noted that according to the report of the primary medical board, the man is in a “pathetic condition”.

According to the guidelines issued by the apex court in 2023, a primary and a secondary medical board will have to be formed for an expert opinion on the withdrawal of artificial life support for a patient in a vegetative state.