India’s Supreme Court approves removal of life support for man in vegetative State

International

A DEBATE sparked across India regarding the ethics of a court-approved passive euthanasia, a legal document that allows individuals to specify the medical treatment they wish to receive or refuse if they become terminally ill or unable to communicate their decisions.

The discussion intensified after the Supreme Court of India approved the removal of life support for a 31-year-old man who has remained in a vegetative state for more than a decade.

The decision marks the first instance of court-approved passive euthanasia in the country for a patient who had not left a living will outlining his medical wishes.

In a report by BBC, the patient, Harish Rana, suffered severe head injuries in 2013 after falling from a fourth-floor balcony while studying engineering at Punjab University in Chandigarh. Since the accident, he has remained in a comatose state and has relied on medical assistance to survive.

For years, Rana’s parents had appealed to the courts to allow doctors to withdraw their son’s life support. According to reports, the family had exhausted their savings while caring for him and had expressed concern about what would happen to him once they were no longer able to provide support.

The family first sought permission for passive euthanasia from the Delhi High Court in 2024, but their request was denied after the court ruled that Rana was not dependent on life-support machines.

They later elevated the case to the Supreme Court in 2025, arguing that their son’s condition had deteriorated and that he was being kept alive artificially through medical support.

Under Indian law governing living wills and passive euthanasia, at least two medical boards must certify that a patient meets the necessary criteria before life support can be withdrawn.

With the court’s ruling, medical experts are now authorized to exercise their clinical judgment in determining the appropriate steps for withdrawing treatment in Rana’s case.(Iah Jennil Mirarza, BiPSU Comm Intern)