The Supreme Court has reserved its judgment on a petition seeking permission for passive euthanasia for a 32-year-old man who has been in a vegetative state for the past 13 years, according to a report by India Today.
The top court stated that it would avoid using the term “passive euthanasia”, the report stated.
“We decide matters every day, but these issues are delicate. We are also mortals—who are we to decide who lives or dies?” the court remarked. Justice JB Pardiwala added that the bench would consider the option of withdrawing life-sustaining medical treatment, as per the report.
Passive euthanasia is the intentional act of letting a patient die by withholding or withdrawing life support or treatment necessary for maintaining life.
For the past 13 years, 32-year-old Harish Rana’s life has remained at a standstill. The Delhi resident has been in a permanent vegetative state since 2013 and continues to survive through medical tubes that help him breathe and receive nutrition. After enduring years of emotional and financial strain, his parents once again approached the Supreme Court, seeking permission to withdraw life support so their son could be allowed “a dignified death.”
What happened?
Harish was a civil engineering student at Chandigarh University when his life took a devastating turn on August 20, 2013. On Raksha Bandhan, he fell from the fourth floor of his paying guest accommodation, sustaining severe head injuries that rendered him completely disabled. Doctors later confirmed that he could neither move nor respond, and his condition has remained unchanged ever since, India Today reported.
Since the accident, Harish has been admitted to AIIMS, with his parents spending years by his bedside. As medical costs continued to rise and there was no improvement in his condition, the family was forced to sell their Delhi home and move to Ghaziabad. Despite having two other children, their lives have largely revolved around caring for Harish.
In 2024, Harish’s parents first approached the Delhi High Court seeking permission for passive euthanasia, but their plea was rejected. The court held that withdrawing feeding tubes would amount to active euthanasia, which is illegal in India. Later that year, the Supreme Court also dismissed their appeal, observing that Harish was not entirely dependent on machines.
The parents returned to the Supreme Court in December 2025, arguing that Harish’s condition had deteriorated and that he was being kept alive artificially. Medical boards appointed by the court found his chances of recovery to be almost nil, the report said.
