India’s First Passive Euthanasia Patient Harish Rana Passes Away at AIIMS Delhi

Harish Rana, the first person in India to be granted passive euthanasia by the Supreme Court of India, died on Tuesday at All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi after spending more than 13 years in a coma, according to a report by Press Trust of India.

Rana, 31, had been in a persistent vegetative state since 2013 following a fall from a fourth-floor balcony while he was studying BTech at Panjab University. The accident caused severe brain injuries, leaving him dependent on artificial feeding and periodic oxygen support for survival.

Earlier this month, he was moved from his residence in Ghaziabad to the palliative care unit of the Dr BR Ambedkar Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital at AIIMS Delhi. After his admission on March 14, doctors gradually withdrew his nutritional support in line with medical protocols and the court's directives.

On March 11, the Supreme Court issued a landmark order allowing passive euthanasia in Rana's case. The court directed AIIMS to carry out the withdrawal of life support through a carefully structured medical process to ensure dignity in his final moments.

A multidisciplinary medical team led by anaesthesia and palliative medicine specialist Seema Mishra supervised the procedure. The panel included experts from neurosurgery, onco-anaesthesia, psychiatry and palliative medicine, marking the first time such a process had been implemented in India following a specific court directive.

Passive euthanasia refers to allowing a patient to die by withdrawing or withholding life-sustaining treatment, including feeding or life-support systems.

In the days after the court's ruling, a deeply emotional video of Rana's final moments with his family surfaced online. The short clip showed relatives gathering around him to say goodbye. His mother was seen sitting beside him, visibly heartbroken, while a member of the Brahma Kumaris applied a tilak on his forehead and spoke softly, urging him to forgive and seek forgiveness as he prepared for his final journey.

Reports indicate that the Rana family has long been associated with the Brahma Kumaris spiritual organisation, which helped them secure legal assistance while pursuing the euthanasia plea in court.