Supreme Court Grants Permission for Passive Euthanasia in Case of Ghaziabad Man in Vegetative State A 31-year-old man, Harish Rana, who has been in a vegetative state for 13 years following a 2013 accident, is now allowed to have his life support withdrawn at the request of his parents, according to a landmark Supreme Court ruling. The court also directed the government to consider enacting a law on passive euthanasia, which requires medical board evaluations to determine the patient’s condition. Harish Rana, a former student of Punjab University, fell from the fourth floor of a paying guest accommodation in 2013 and sustained severe brain injuries. He has been reliant on life support systems, including a tracheostomy tube for breathing and a gastrojejunostomy tube for feeding, since the incident. The court acknowledged his prolonged dependency and noted that medical reports show no improvement in his condition over the past 13 years. In its order, the bench comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice KV Viswanathan emphasized that the withdrawal of life support must meet two criteria: it must be considered a medical treatment and in the patient’s best interests. The court cited the phrase "To be or not to be" from Shakespeare’s Hamlet to underscore the ethical dilemma of an individual’s right to choose death. Justice Pardiwala also referenced a quote by Henry Ward Beecher, stating, "Gods ask no man if he accepts life, you must take it," to highlight the court’s stance on respecting personal autonomy. The ruling stated that while a doctor’s duty is to treat a patient, this obligation ceases when there is no hope of recovery. The court ordered the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to admit Harish Rana for palliative care to ensure his medical treatment is withdrawn in a dignified manner.#supreme_court #aiims #harish_rana #pune_university #aruna_shanbaug
