Supreme Court approves passive euthanasia for 31-year-old man in coma for over 12 years

The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed passive euthanasia for a 31-year-old man who has been in a comatose condition for more than 12 years, by withdrawing his artificial life support.

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.

Harish Rana suffered head injuries after falling from the fourth floor of a building in 2013 and has been in a coma for over a decade.

A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and K V Viswanathan directed AIIMS to grant Rana admission to palliative careso that the medical treatment can be withdrawn. It must be ensured that it is withdrawn with a tailored plan that maintains dignity, the bench said.

The top court earlier expressed its desire to meet the parents of the 31-year-old man. It had perused a report containing Rana's medical history, filed by a secondary medical board of doctors at AIIMS-Delhi, and remarked that it was a "sad" report.

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

The top court had, 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.