Harish Rana was on life support after he fell from a building and sustained severe head injuries while he was a B. Tech student at Panjab University. Photo: Special arrangement
Days after the Supreme Court delivered a verdict – the first of its kind – allowing the withdrawal of clinically assisted nutrition and hydration (CANH), Harish Rana, who had been in a vegetative state for 13 years, died at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS) in Delhi on Tuesday.
The hospital said in a statement that Mr Rana died at 4.10pm, adding that he was under the care of a specialist team of doctors. The hospital said, “AIIMS extends its sincere condolences to his family and loved ones at this difficult time.”
On March 11, the court ordered that he be shifted from his residence in Ghaziabad to AIIMS, where medical treatment could eventually be withdrawn. The sentence was welcomed by his parents, who said no parent wanted to “see their son suffer”.
His father, Ashok Rana, had earlier told The Hindu that the verdict was heartening but difficult for the family. He added that the family referred to it as “death with dignity” instead of “passive euthanasia”. The Supreme Court also said in its judgment that they were replacing “passive euthanasia” with “withholding or denying medical treatment”.
Mr. Rana was 32 years old. He suffered severe injuries and was 100% quadriplegic after falling from the fourth floor of his paying guest accommodation while a student at Panjab University in 2013.
After his death, his family learned that they had donated his corneas and heart valves, which the hospital had obtained.
Published – 24 March 2026 19:11 IST
