New Delhi: The Supreme Court on March 11 permitted passive euthanasia for Harish Rana (32) of Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, who has been in a coma for 13 years.
Rana slipped and fell from the fourth floor of a hostel in Chandigarh in 2013 while he was a college student. He suffered a severe head injury and has remained bedridden and unconscious since then.
Despite treatment at multiple hospitals, there has been no improvement. An AIIMS medical report has stated that there is no chance of recovery.
His father, Ashok Rana, had approached the Supreme Court seeking permission for passive euthanasia. A bench comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K.V. Viswanathan allowed the plea and ordered that the ongoing medical treatment be withdrawn.
The court directed that the patient be admitted to the critical care unit at AIIMS, and asked the AIIMS administration to make all arrangements to shift him from his home to the facility. The report noted that earlier petitions were rejected in 2018 and 2023, and this was the third attempt filed in January.
