Overview
- The bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and K V Viswanathan asked AIIMS, New Delhi, to form a secondary medical board and file its opinion by December 17, with a hearing set for December 18.
- The primary board led by the Ghaziabad CMO examined Harish Rana at home and reported extensive bedsores, tube-based feeding and respiration, and negligible prospects of recovery.
- Recording the findings, the court said it "can’t allow him to live like this" and moved to the next step under the passive euthanasia framework.
- The parents, in their second approach to the apex court, seek recognition of clinically assisted nutrition and hydration as life-sustaining treatment eligible for withdrawal.
- The process follows the Supreme Court’s Common Cause ruling (2018) and its 2023 modifications requiring a two-tier medical review before any judicial decision on withdrawing treatment.