The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed a 31-year-old man from Ghaziabad who has been in a comatose condition for almost 13 years passive euthanasia by withdrawing his life support.
In terms of its 2018 Common Cause judgment (as modified in 2023) recognising the fundamental right to die with dignity, a bench comprising justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan allowed the withdrawal of life support for a 32-year-old Harish Rana.
Rana has remained in an irreversible permanent vegetative state for the past 13 years after falling from a building. His brain injury left him in a condition of Persistent Vegetative State (PSV) with 100 per cent quadriplegia.
According to medical reports, his medical condition has not improved in the past 13 years. He is sustaining life only on Clinically Administered Nutrition (CAN) administered through surgically installed PEG tubes.
The bench passed the order on a miscellaneous application of the father seeking to remove all life-sustaining treatment from his son.
