Before Harish Rana’s passive euthanasia case came to light, it was Aruna Shanbaug’s case that gripped the nation. The former nurse remained in a vegetative state since a brutal sexual assault in 1973. It was only because of her case that the legality of passive euthanasia was recognized in rare cases.
In 2011, the Supreme Court recognized passive euthanasia, and in 2018, in Common Cause v. Union of India, the court detailed the guidelines for a living will that allows terminally ill patients to terminate treatment.
Passive euthanasia versus active euthanasia
While active euthanasia involves deliberately injecting a life-ending substance into someone’s body, passive euthanasia involves withdrawing or refusing life-sustaining treatment – such as ventilators, dialysis or artificial nutrition.
By performing passive euthanasia, authorities allow a person’s underlying illness to run its natural course, thereby allowing natural death, according to the Live Law.
In India, passive euthanasia was recognized by the Supreme Court in 2018 as a fundamental right under Article 21.
Who was Aruna Shanbaug?
Aruna Shanbaug was a nurse at King Edward Memorial Hospital in Mumbai who spent up to 42 years in a vegetative state after being sexually assaulted.
On the night of the incident – November 27, 1973 – Aruna Shanbaug was about to end her shift when she allegedly had an argument with one Sohanlal Valmiki.
In his testimony, Sohanlal Valmiki admitted that he slapped Shanbaug and left. However, the nurse was discovered the next day badly injured, her face covered in blood and a dog chain around her neck.
She survived the attack, but spent the next four decades in a vegetative state.
Her request for euthanasia
The Supreme Court rejected Shanbaug’s family’s plea to end her life and she died of pneumonia in 2015 at the age of 66.
However, it issued a landmark opinion recognizing passive euthanasia under strict safeguards and with the approval of the court.
The move built on earlier rulings that recognized the constitutional right to die with dignity, and served as a prelude to the expanded 2018 ruling on passive euthanasia.
Harish Rana’s euthanasia case: a first ever
In its first ever order after recognizing passive euthanasia, the Supreme Court on Wednesday (March 11) allowed 32-year-old man Harish Rana to be withdrawn from life support.
Harish Rana has been in a coma for over 12 years. While issuing its order, the court also directed AIIMS-Delhi to ensure withdrawal of life support using a tailor-made plan so that dignity is preserved.
Harish Rana, who was a student of Panjab University, fell from the fourth floor of his PG accommodation and sustained head injuries. It happened in 2013 and he has been in a coma ever since.
