The Supreme Court of India on Thursday ordered the Noida District Hospital (Sector 39) to immediately set up a Primary Medical Board to examine the possibility of passive euthanasia for a 32-year-old man who has been quadriplegic and in a persistent vegetative state for the past 12 years.
A bench comprising Justices J. B. Pardiwala and K. V. Viswanathan directed that the constituted board must submit its findings within two weeks.
The petition was filed by Ashok Rana, the father of Harish Rana, seeking permission to withdraw life-sustaining treatment.
Harish — once a student at Punjab University — suffered a devastating fall from the fourth floor of his paying-guest accommodation in 2013.
The head injury left him with total quadriplegia and has rendered him completely bedridden and dependent on artificial life support ever since.
According to his counsel, advocate Rashmi Nandakumar, Harish’s condition has deteriorated steadily over the years, and he now survives solely because of a Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy (PEG) tube.
He remains unresponsive and has not improved despite continuous medical care. Nandakumar argued that the family is not seeking active euthanasia but only the withdrawal of extraordinary life-sustaining treatment as permitted under the doctrine of passive euthanasia — as recognised by the Supreme Court itself in its 2018 constitution-bench verdict, with further modifications issued in January 2023 to simplify procedures.
In its order, the bench acknowledged Harish’s “persistent vegetative state” and “100 per cent disability quadriplegia,” noting that he has been maintained on artificial life support for 12 years without any improvement.
The court emphasised the need for a medical opinion under the law: “Let the Primary Board place its report at the earliest, and once it is before us, we shall proceed to pass further orders.”
The court also directed the Registry to communicate this directive to the District Hospital and copy the Additional Solicitor General, Aishwarya Bhati.
Once the Primary Medical Board submits its assessment, the Supreme Court may decide whether to approve the withdrawal of the life-sustaining treatment — effectively allowing Harish’s legal guardians to end his treatment under what is legally known as passive euthanasia.
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