New Delhi : 32-year-old Harish Rana, who has been in a coma ever since a fall 13 years ago left him with severe brain injuries, has been allowed to die by the Supreme Court. The verdict, which clarified several aspects of a 2018 Supreme Court judgment that recognised the legality of passive euthanasia, was delivered by an emotional bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan.
The Harish Rana judgment clarifies aspects related to how passive euthanasia should be applied in cases where a patient’s life is being supported by feeding tubes – something that had not been clearly defined in the previous judgment. The Harish Rana case is unique in the sense that while medical opinion concurred that his condition was irreversible, the fact that his life was being supported by food supplied via medical tubes was not an aspect covered under the 2018 guidelines.
The bench began with a reflection on the complex questions courts face in end-of-life cases. It cited the words of American preacher Henry Ward Beecher: “God asks no man whether he will accept life. That is not a choice. You must take it. The only question is how.” The judges also referred to Shakespeare’s famous dilemma of “to be or not to be”, noting that courts are sometimes required to confront similarly difficult questions when asked to decide end-of-life cases.
The court then clarified a key issue that lay at the heart of the Harish Rana case. It held that clinically administered nutrition and hydration — including food supplied through feeding tubes — constitutes medical treatment. Since such nutrition is prescribed, monitored and delivered through medical intervention, the bench said it can be withdrawn if both the primary and secondary medical boards conclude that continuing it is not in the patient’s best interest.
Medical reports placed before the court said Rana experiences sleep–wake cycles but shows no meaningful movement or response. Since the accident, he has been sustained through clinically administered nutrition delivered through a surgically installed PEG feeding tube. Over the years, with no improvement in his condition, Rana’s parents approached the courts seeking permission to withdraw life-sustaining treatment.
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