- The Supreme Court of India allowed withdrawal of clinically assisted nutrition and hydration for Harish Rana, who has been in a vegetative state for 13 years.
- The ruling effectively applied principles of passive euthanasia after medical boards assessed his condition.
- The court directed All India Institute of Medical Sciences to manage the withdrawal of treatment through palliative car
In an emotional moment inside the Supreme Court of India on Wednesday, Justice J. B. Pardiwala was visibly moved and briefly teared up while delivering a landmark judgment allowing passive euthanasia for Harish Rana, a 32-year-old man who has remained in a persistent vegetative state for 13 years.
The Supreme Court judgement witnessed a rare moment when Justice J. B. Pardiwala permitted passive euthanasia with teary eyes to a 32-year-old man who has been in a vegetative state for the last 13 years. Parents of the patient, Harish Rana, reached out to the court for letting the patient die by withdrawing life support or the treatment necessary to keep him alive.
Passive euthanasia is the legal practice of withholding life-sustaining treatments to allow a terminally ill patient to die in a natural manner.
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In 2013, Harish Rana fell down from the fourth floor of the PG and suffered head injuries that left him in a vegetative state for over a decade.
"He experiences sleep–wake cycles but exhibits no meaningful interaction and has been dependent on others for all activities of self-care. Harish has been on CAN administered through a PEG tube, and his condition has shown no improvement," the bench of Justices J. B. Pardiwala and K. V. Viswanathan noted about his condition.
The bench directed All India Institute of Medical Sciences to grant admission in palliative care to Rana so that the medical treatment can be withdrawn. It must be ensured that it is withdrawn with a tailored plan so that dignity is maintained, the bench said, according to Press Trust of India.
After the apex court guidelines issued in 2023, a primary and a secondary medical board were formed for an expert opinion to examine the condition of the patient, on which the report was prepared for the withdrawal of artificial life support, like feeding tubes, for a patient in a vegetative state.
In the two separate reports, the secondary team of doctors from the AIIMS-Delhi medical board submitted Rana's medical history and remarked it as a "sad" report, while the primary medical board reported that there was a negligible chance of his recovery after examining the patient and that the man is in a "pathetic condition."
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Check timeline of the case
• In August 2013: A civil engineering student at Panjab University, Harish Rana fell from the fourth floor of his PG in Chandigarh on August 20, 2013, after which he suffered severe head injuries causing 100% disability, resulting in a permanent vegetative state.
• In July 2024: Harish's parents, due to emotionally and financially drained conditions, approached the Delhi High Court in July 2024 after caring for him at home for nearly a decade, seeking permission for passive euthanasia. Initially, the court rejected the petition, stating that life support should be ventilation and that Harish was not dependent on mechanical support to stay alive.
• In August 2024: The Supreme Court's bench of D. Y. Chandrachud found that Harish Rana was in a permanent vegetative state. In August, it observed that withdrawing treatment would mean permitting euthanasia, which is illegal in India, and upheld the High Court's order.
• In November 2024: D. Y. Chandrachud ordered the Government of Uttar Pradesh to cover Harish's medical expenses and find relief for the patient's family.
• December 11, 2025: Harish's parents again approached the Supreme Court when a bench of Justices J. B. Pardiwala and K. V. Viswanathan directed the formation of a team of medical experts as a Primary Medical Board to assess Harish's condition.
• December 18, 2025: The Supreme Court received the report mentioning the condition as "pathetic" from the primary board. Then, for a second and final review, the court ordered AIIMS New Delhi to form a Secondary Medical Board.
• January 13, 2026: After meeting the parents and brother personally, the Supreme Court judges permitted the withdrawal of life-sustaining equipment, like feeding tubes, allowing him a natural death.
• January 15, 2026: The final judgment, after hearing detailed arguments from the family's counsel and the Additional Solicitor General, was reserved by the Supreme Court.
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