After a 13-year struggle, the Supreme Court granted permission for the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment for Harish Rana, who has been in a vegetative state since a 2013 accident

NEW DELHI/GHAZIABAD: Caught in a cycle of grief and helplessness for 13 years, Wednesday brought closure to the family of Harish Rana with Supreme Court allowing withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment to the 31-year-old who has been in a vegetative state for 13 years. Speaking at the family’s house in Ghaziabad’s Raj Nagar Extension after the landmark ruling, his father Ashok fought back tears. “For Harish and for us, this is a difficult decision, but it’s in our interest. Watching your own child fade away is the deepest pain a parent can suffer. Yet, for him, death is a release, a gentle escape from the endless misery and suffering he has endured for the last 13 years.”

Expressing his gratitude to Supreme Court, he said, “We are grateful for the humane judgment. We thank God. The judges who heard the case were also guided by God’s grace. Through their guidance, the judgment we wanted was delivered. We received support from doctors and we are satisfied with that. My wife and I are getting old now. I am 63 and she is almost 60,” he added.

Ashok clarified that the court’s order does not involve active euthanasia but allows withdrawal of life-support such as the PEG feeding tube while providing palliative care.

In 2013, when he was in the final semester of his BTech (civil engineering) course at Panjab University, a fall from the fourth floor of his paying guest accommodation in Kharar left Harish – a bright and cheerful boy – with severe brain injuries. Despite treatment PGI Chandigarh, and AIIMS, Ram Manohar Lohia and Lok Nayak hospitals in Delhi, he developed diffuse axonal injury (a severe form of traumatic brain injury in the white matter) and has since the fall been in permanent vegetative state with quadriplegia (paralysis of all four limbs and torso) and 100% disability.Also read: ‘Mental worry is more devastating …’: Supreme Court quotes Sanskrit shloka while allowing passive euthanasia“Our son was a brilliant student. He was a topper in civil engineering at the university. The incident happened on Aug 20, 2013, which was a Tuesday and also Raksha Bandhan. He had sent us messages. Later in the day, we received a call saying he had fallen. When we reached the PGI trauma centre at 3am, he had injuries on his head and his feet had turned blue,” Ashok said. Bedridden, Harish has been dependent on a feeding tube, with mother Nirmala Devi and Ashok his primary caregivers. Ashok said he hoped the judgment would help other families facing endless suffering. “This fight is not only about our own son. Across India, there may be many families facing a similar situation. We raised this issue in larger public interest”. After years of caring for their son and recognising that his condition was irreversible, the parents approached courts seeking permission for passive euthanasia. They pleaded for guidelines laid down by Supreme Court in Common Cause vs Union of India case — which allows withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment in certain circumstances — to be applied to Harish’s case. The plea reached Supreme Court last year. During proceedings, multiple medical boards were constituted to examine Harish’s condition. In 2021, the family was forced to sell their three-storey house at Mahavir Enclave in Delhi due to poor ambulance access. Ashok, who receives a pension of Rs 3,500, supplements his income by selling sprouts and sandwiches near a local sports ground, while his younger son Ashish, recently employed in the private sector, helps support the household. “We are not financially affluent. Selling the house was the only option,” Ashish said.Also read: Who is Harish Rana? Ghaziabad man in vegetative state for 12 years at centre of Supreme Court’s passive euthanasia rulingAshok, who is from Kangra in Himachal Pradesh, worked at a private hotel near IGI Airport from 1989 to Feb 2021. He and Nirmala have three children – Harish, Asish and a daughter who is married and lives in Ghaziabad. The legal fight and Harish’s condition took enormous emotional and financial toll on the family. “Earlier, we hired a nurse for Rs 27,000 a month and paid Rs 14,000 for a physiotherapist — almost equal to my salary then — but the costs became unsustainable. Even today, we spend Rs 20,000–25,000 monthly on his care and have received only Rs 50,000 once as govt help,” Ashok had told TOI in July 2024 when the family’s plight was highlighted in these columns. “It’s not easy for us to pray for our son’s death daily,” he had lamented. A resident of the same housing society who knows the Ranas said the family had endured extreme hardships. “They are humble. They’ve been living here for the past 6-7 years,” said BK Sharma. “It is a very wise judgment that Supreme Court delivered today. It is not easy for anyone to make such a decision.” On Wednesday evening, Ghaziabad DM Ravindra Kumar Mander, Ghaziabad Development Authority vice-chairman Nandkishore Kalal and municipal commissioner Vikramaditya Singh Malik visited the family to discuss possible support measures. “The family has been given immediate financial assistance of Rs 2.5 lakh. Additional financial aid will also be provided through the CM’s Vivekananda Relief Fund,” Mander said. The DM also said govt would allot a shop to the family to help them earn a livelihood. “We will connect them with other govt welfare schemes so that their livelihood becomes stable.” Mander said. Officials said the district administration has been directed by the UP govt to ensure that benefits of govt schemes the family is eligible for is extended to them on priority.