NEW DELHI: India´s Supreme Court authorised on Wednesday the withdrawal of life support from a man who has been in a vegetative state for over a decade, the first such ruling in the country´s history.
India recognised passive euthanasia in 2018, permitting the removal of life support under strict conditions to allow death to occur naturally.
But this marks the first time that a court has approved its use for an individual. The parents of Harish Rana had sought to discontinue medical support for their son, who suffered severe head injuries in a fall from a building in 2013 and has been on life support since.
The court granted their request on Wednesday, saying in its ruling that Rana exhibited “no meaningful interaction” and had been dependent on others for “all activities of self-care”.
“His condition has shown no improvement,” the court was quoted as saying by legal news website Bar and Bench.
Doctors had already concluded that Rana, who is in his early 30s, has virtually no chance of recovery.
But because he does not have a living will -- a legally binding document outlining preferences for medical care in the event of a terminal condition -- he has not been able to give his consent for passive euthanasia. His parents, therefore, had petitioned the court to allow him to be taken off life support.
