Delhi, March 15: Harish Rana, the ill-fated techie who has been living with Permanent Vegetative State (PVS) and under life support system for at least 4588 days, received an emotional farewell from his parents and religious preachers on Sunday.
He was given a tearful see off by his friends, relatives and near & dear before he was taken for a different medical procedure, apart from the ventilator support.
Rana’s tearing mother, Nirmala Devi, held her son’s face gently in her palms and kissed his forehead before he leaves for a new ward for the suggested procedures. His father, Ashok Rana, bent down and stroked his hair, trying to hold back tears.
The stretcher was slowly brought to the door as officials completed the final formalities.
For the Rana family, the moment marks the end of a 13-year-long journey of hope, suffering, and difficult decisions. The mourning parents who could not endure the pain & suffering of their lad, finally prayed for their ward’s ultimate peace in the heaven abode.
As life support is set to be withdrawn, the parents are left with memories of the son they once dreamed would become an engineer a dream that was tragically interrupted more than a decade ago.
In the morning of March 14, an unusual silence filled the 13th-floor flat of Empire Society in Rajnagar Extension, Ghaziabad. Family members, neighbours, doctors, officials, and a crowd gathered inside the house, as the comatose youth was readied to shift for the AIIMS Delhi.
32-year-old Harish Rana, who had spent nearly 13 years in a Permanent Vegetative State after a devastating accident, was prepared to be moved to the Palliative Care department of AIIMS Delhi, his family braced themselves for the most painful farewell of their lives.
As the lift doors closed, Harish’s father accompanied the medical team, while his mother covered her face with her pallu and broke down in tears.
“We have spent 4,588 days with this pain, but the decision to end our son’s suffering is even more painful,” the grieving father said.
Harish was taken to the palliative care department at AIIMS Delhi after the Supreme Court allowed Passive Euthanasia, marking a significant legal development in India’s end-of-life care framework.
Doctors are expected to withdraw life support in accordance with the court’s directions during the medical interventions.
Harish Rana who was once a bright and ambitious engineering student fell off the rooftop that brought bad days for him.In 2012, he joined the first batch of engineering students at Chandigarh University in Mohali through lateral entry and was admitted directly to the second year. Known for his academic excellence, Harish consistently ranked among the top five students in his class. His family dreamed of seeing him become a successful engineer. But fate took a tragic turn in August 2013.
On the fateful evening of Raksha Bandhan, Harish had fallen from a four-storey building in Chandigarh.
The fall caused catastrophic brain and spinal cord injuries. Eventually, Harish was left in a Permanent Vegetative State (PVS) that’s irreversible with 100 percent quadriplegia, meaning he lost all voluntary movement of his limbs. Although his heart continued to beat and basic bodily functions remained active, his brain showed no signs of recovery.
Harish was initially treated at PGI Chandigarh for 10 days before being shifted to AIIMS Delhi, where he remained on a ventilator for nearly a month. In the years that followed, the family sought treatment at multiple hospitals, including Medanta and Apollo, hoping for a miracle that never came.
Since then, Harish has been surviving for 13 Years on Artificial Nutrition. He survived only through Clinically Assisted Nutrition and Hydration (CANH) administered via a PEG tube.
Despite constant medical care and the family’s relentless hope, there was no improvement in his condition.
After the Delhi High Court dismissed his father’s plea for euthanasia in 2024, the family approached the Supreme Court, seeking relief from what they described as prolonged suffering.
In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court allowed the withdrawal of life support after considering the recommendations of multiple medical boards and the consent of Harish’s family.
The court directed AIIMS Delhi to admit Harish to its palliative care department and create a comprehensive end-of-life care plan.
The judges emphasised that the withdrawal of life support must be conducted in a humane manner, ensuring that the patient’s dignity is preserved.
The court also clarified that Clinically Administered Nutrition through PEG tubes qualifies as medical treatment rather than basic care. Therefore, its withdrawal falls within the scope of passive euthanasia.
