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Harish Rana, India's first person to be allowed passive euthanasia, dies in AIIMS
Public Lokpal
March 24, 2026
Harish Rana, India's first person to be allowed passive euthanasia, dies in AIIMS
NEW DELHI: Harish Rana, the first person in India to be allowed passive euthanasia, passed away on Tuesday at AIIMS-Delhi after more than 13 years in coma, sources said.
The 31-year-old, who has been in a coma since 2013, was shifted from his Ghaziabad home to the palliative care unit at Dr BR Ambedkar Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences on March 14.
Three days before that, the Supreme Court in a landmark judgement on March 11 allowed passive euthanasia for Harish, who was a BTech student at Panjab University who fell from a fourth-floor balcony in 2013 and suffered severe head injuries. He had been in a coma since, with artificial nutrition support and occasional oxygen support.
Passive euthanasia is the intentional act of letting a patient die by withholding or withdrawing life support or the treatment necessary to keep him alive.
Harish's nutritional support was gradually withdrawn after he was admitted to the hospital, the sources said on Tuesday.
He is survived by his parents, Ashok and Nirmala Rana.
Harish's family had said after the apex court judgment that the withdrawal of artificial life support won't bring any personal benefit to the family but in the larger public interest, the decision could help others facing similar situations. His father had said passive euthanasia will restore Harish's dignity after years of irreversible suffering.
PTI
