- The Supreme Court allowed passive euthanasia for Harish Rana, in a vegetative state for 13 years
- Harish Rana will be shifted to AIIMS Delhi to be taken off life support after the verdict
- Harish's father, Ashok Rana, thanked the court and hopes the ruling benefits others in similar states
No parent wants death for his or her child, Harish Rana's father, Ashok Rana, said hours after the Supreme Court allowed passive euthanasia for the 31-year-old, who has been in a vegetative state for 13 years.
Harish Rana suffered serious brain injuries in a fall off the fourth floor in 2013. Since then, he has been on life support and confined to a bed with a tracheostomy tube for respiration and a gastrojejunostomy tube for feeding.
The court today allowed Harish Rana to die. He will now be shifted to AIIMS, Delhi, where he will be taken off life support.
Thanking the top court for the landmark judgment, Ashok Rana told news agency ANI, "We have got what we wanted. I fought for three years. Which father and mother want this for their son? We do not know how many people are in a condition like Harish's. May this benefit them, too. The matter went from the high court to the Supreme Court and we got success today."
Speaking to the media, Ashok Rana said his wife, who has been looking after Harish for the past 13 years, first thought of this four years back. "She asked me to write to the President or the Prime Minister. I told her this (passive euthanasia) is not possible."
He said he had links to Brahma Kumaris, a social-cultural organisation, and it helped him find a lawyer, and their long fight began. Welcoming the judgment, he said, "We are growing old. I am 63, she is 60. This is not just about my son. We do not know how many such sons are in India?"
Delivering the verdict, the bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice KV Viswanathan noted that Harish Rana's family, particularly his elderly parents, cared for him selflessly over the years. "His family never left his side... to love someone is to care for them even in the darkest times. Our decision today does not neatly fit in logical (lines), but love, life and loss," it said.
