Harish Rana, who was in coma for 13 years, passed away. On the petition of his parents, the Supreme Court had allowed passive euthanasia for the first time in the country. This is the first such case after the 2018 law.
New Delhi: The last rites of Harish Rana will be performed this morning in Ghaziabad. Only people close to his family will attend this occasion. Finally, 13 years of silence and painful wait ended and Harish Rana went to a world where there is no problem. His death was confirmed yesterday. Harish Rana is the first person to whom the Supreme Court gave permission to give passive euthanasia (euthanasia) after the law was made in the country.
32 year old Harish was alive with the help of machines for the last 13 years. There was no movement in his body. His old parents had appealed to the Supreme Court to free their son from this suffering. While giving this historic verdict on March 11, the court had said that every citizen has the right to die with dignity. This decision is also special because after passive euthanasia got legal recognition in the country in 2018, this was the first case in which the court allowed it.
Harish Rana, resident of Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, was studying civil engineering in Chandigarh. On 20 August 2013, he fell from the fourth floor of his hostel. In this accident, he suffered a serious head injury and he could never open his eyes again, nor could he move his hands and legs. His body had become 100 percent disabled. He was in coma for the last 13 years. His parents told the court that they could not bear to see their son in this condition any longer and the doctors had also said that there would be no benefit from the treatment.
While hearing this petition, the bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice KV Vishwanathan ordered to gradually stop the treatment of Harish Rana. After this, Harish, who was undergoing treatment at home, was shifted to the palliative care department of AIIMS. There his life support system was gradually removed.
In his last moments, only his mother was with Harish. A team of 10 doctors including Dr. Seema Mishra of AIIMS completed the process of euthanasia. Exactly 13 days after the court’s decision, at 4:10 pm, Harish said goodbye to this painful world. This case will be remembered as a great example of the judiciary’s sensitivity towards the unbearable suffering of a human being, beyond the law.