Overview
- The Supreme Court listed the plea for a final order on January 15 after reserving its decision earlier this week.
- Justices J. B. Pardiwala and K. V. Viswanathan met Harish Rana’s parents and younger brother, recording their request to withdraw treatment to prevent further suffering.
- Primary and secondary medical boards that examined Rana advised discontinuing artificial life support, noting he remains in a permanent vegetative state with no prospect of recovery.
- Court records note Rana has been bedridden for about 13 years since a 2013 fall, dependent on tracheostomy and gastrostomy tubes for breathing and nutrition.
- A joint report from Additional Solicitor-General Aishwarya Bhati and the family’s lawyer detailed meetings with the family, as the bench applies established safeguards for passive euthanasia under Article 21 jurisprudence.