In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court allowed the first-ever plea for passive euthanasia of Harish Rana of Ghaziabad. Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan passed the judgment on Wednesday, noting that the man who has been permanent vegetative state since 2013 after falling from a building has not be responding to treatment.
The bench of Justices said, “He experiences sleep–wake cycles but exhibits no meaningful interaction and has been dependent on others for all activities of self-care. Harish has been on CAN administered through a PEG tube, and his condition has shown no improvement,” according to legal news website Bar and Bench.
Consequently, the first-ever court-ordered passive euthanasia ruling in the country will let medical authorities withdraw Rana’s artificial life support, effectively allowing the man in his 30s to die with dignity.
“In line with 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 v. Union of India,” the judgment said.
Back in 2018, a five-judge Constitution Bench’s judgment ruled that Article 21’s right to life includes the right to live with dignity, thereby legalising passive euthanasia. It, in turn, included facilitating an easier process of dying in case of a terminally ill person stuck in vegetative state without any hope of recovery.
About Harish Rana’s case
In August 2013, Rana fell from the fourth floor of his paying guest accommodation while he was still a BTech student at Punjab University Chandigarh. He sustained a severe traumatic brain injury, which pushed him into a persistent vegetative state.
His parents have continued to petition courts several times to allow their son’s life support system to be removed. In previous interviews, they noted that their savings had severely taken a hit while caring for Rana, as also cited by the BBC. They also expressed deep concerns about what would happen to their son after their own deaths.
Rana’s parents approached the Delhi High Court seeking the permission for passive euthanasia for him. However, the court rejected their plea ay the time, saying that Harish had been placed on life-support machines and was “able to sustain himself without any external aid.”
After the plea’ rejected by HC, they went to the Supreme Court. But their request was declined once again. Last year, they approached the SC again, asserting that Rana’s condition had severely deteriorated and that he was being kept alive “artificially.” Ultimately, two medical boards agreed to assess his condition, which led them to declare that there was barely any hope of recovery and living a normal life in Rana’s case.