Passive Euthanasia Plea: Supreme Court Orders AIIMS Secondary Medical Board to Assess 13-Yr Vegetative Patient

The Court acted after a team of medical experts reported that his chances of recovery were “negligible”.

The Bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan while hearing a Miscellaneous Application filed by Harish’s father under the Common Cause euthanasia framework, noted that the petitioner’s condition had deteriorated further since the Court last considered the matter.

Harish, who suffered severe injuries over a decade ago, is dependent on a tracheostomy tube for breathing and a gastrostomy tube for nutrition.

In compliance with the Court’s earlier direction, the Chief Medical Officer of Ghaziabad and four specialists; a neurologist, neurosurgeon, plastic surgeon and anaesthesiologist, conducted an in-home medical evaluation. Their report painted a grim picture.

Harish was found emaciated, with extensive contractures, bed sores, sluggish pupillary response, full dependence for all bodily functions and only basic brainstem activity. “The chances of his recovery from this state is negligible,” the doctors concluded.

Taking note of the findings, the Court held it necessary to move to the next step under the Common Cause guidelines (as modified in 2023), which require an independent assessment by a Secondary Medical Board before any decision on withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining treatment.

The Bench requested the Director of AIIMS to constitute the Board and submit its report by December 17.

The matter will be taken up next on December 18, 2025, as a part-heard matter.

The Court also directed that the entire medical record, including photographs and the expert letter from LLRM Medical College, Meerut, be forwarded to the AIIMS Director immediately.