In a landmark ruling, India's Supreme Court has permitted the withdrawal of life support for 31-year-old Harish Rana, who has been in a persistent vegetative state for over a decade following a fall from a fourth-floor balcony in 2013. This marks the first instance of court-approved passive euthanasia in India, defined as the act of withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining treatment.
While passive euthanasia was legalized in India in 2018, active euthanasia—any act that intentionally assists a person in ending their life—remains illegal. Rana's parents had petitioned courts multiple times over the years, citing exhaustion of their savings and concerns about his care after their deaths. They argued that his condition had deteriorated and he was being kept alive "artificially" through life support machines.
The case saw initial rejections, including from the Delhi High Court in 2024, which noted Rana was not on life-support machines and could "sustain himself without any external aid." After a renewed appeal to the Supreme Court in 2025, the court agreed to review the case following assessments by two medical boards. Both boards concluded that Rana had negligible chances of recovery, suffered permanent brain damage and extensive bed sores, and required external support for feeding, bladder, and bowel functions.
Under India's living will laws, withdrawal of life support requires certification by two medical boards confirming the patient meets specific criteria. The Supreme Court's order paves the way for the boards to exercise clinical judgment in discontinuing treatment. Rana's father, Ashok Rana, expressed gratitude for the "humanitarian" judgment, stating it was a difficult but necessary decision for the family.
The ruling has ignited ethical debates in India regarding court-approved passive euthanasia, particularly in cases where patients, like Rana, lack a living will—a legal document allowing individuals to specify end-of-life medical preferences. Rana, a former engineering student at Punjab University, has been dependent on a tracheostomy tube for breathing and a gastrostomy tube for feeding, with no ability to speak, see, hear, or recognize others, as described by his parents.
Source: www.bbc.com