Milestone Ruling: India's First Legal Passive Euthanasia Case Ends

Harish Rana, the first person in India legally permitted to undergo passive euthanasia, has passed away after 13 years in a coma. This landmark Supreme Court decision paves the way for legal guidelines on euthanasia, recognizing the right to die with dignity as a fundamental constitutional right.

Harish Rana, who became the first person in India allowed passive euthanasia, died Tuesday at AIIMS-Delhi following over a decade in a coma. Aged 31, Harish was transferred from his Ghaziabad home to the palliative care unit at the Dr BR Ambedkar Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital on March 14.

Three days prior, the Supreme Court permitted passive euthanasia in a historic March 11 ruling. Harish, a former BTech student at Panjab University, entered a coma after sustaining severe head injuries from a fall in 2013. Passive euthanasia involves withdrawing life support, and Harish's nutritional support was gradually stopped upon his hospital admission.

The court's decision aligns with its 2018 judgment recognizing the right to die with dignity under Article 21. The landmark ruling emphasized that treatment prolonging life without possibility of recovery need not continue. The court called on the government to bring comprehensive legislation on euthanasia.