Supreme Court To Deliver Verdict On Parents’ Plea For Euthanasia For 32-Year-Old Man Today

Last Updated:January 15, 2026, 09:58 IST

The SC will deliver verdict on petition seeking passive euthanasia for Rana,who is in a vegetative state. The verdict could mark India’s first such case since legalisation in 2018.

File photo of Supreme Court (Image: PTI)

The Supreme Court is set to deliver its verdict on the petition seeking passive euthanasia or mercy killing for Harish Rana (32), who has remained in a permanent vegetative state for the past 13 years, on Thursday. The petition was filed by Rana’s parents.

Rana, who was pursuing a degree in civil engineering at Chandigarh University, had suffered severe head injuries and total disability after falling from a fourth-floor balcony of his PG accommodation on August 20, 2013. Since then, he has depended on a tracheostomy tube for breathing and a gastrostomy tube for nutrition.

Harish’s parents, who also care for two other children, sold their home in Delhi and relocated to Ghaziabad to be near his bedside at AIIMS. Over the years, they have sought legal permission for passive euthanasia to end their son’s prolonged suffering.

Passive euthanasia, which involves withdrawing life-support measures, was first recognised by the Supreme Court in the 2011 Aruna Shanbaug case and later legalised in 2018 under the Common Cause vs Union of India ruling, which recognised the right to die with dignity as part of the right to life. While active euthanasia, which involves directly causing death through drugs or injection, remains illegal in India.

Harish’s parents first approached the Delhi High Court in July 2024, but their plea was rejected on the grounds that he was sustaining himself without mechanical ventilators. Their subsequent petitions in the Supreme Court in 2024 were also denied.

In December 2025, the Supreme Court agreed to reconsider the case after medical boards assessed Harish’s condition. Both primary and secondary medical reports concluded that he had negligible chances of recovery and was being kept “artificially alive."

The Supreme Court, led by Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan, set January 15, 2026, for a final decision. If approved, it would be India’s first known case of passive euthanasia since its legalisation. The verdict is expected to be a defining moment in the country’s approach to mercy killing and end-of-life care.

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