The Supreme Court on Thursday opted to speak with the parents of 31-year-old Harish Rana, who has been in a vegetative condition for the past 13 years, before making a decision on the passive euthanasia appeal.
Notably, the original medical board's report, which stated that the guy had very little chance of recovering, is similar to the secondary report that the AIIMS medical board issued as instructed by SC.
The secondary medical report from AIIMS Delhi was deemed "sad" by a panel of Justices J B Pardiwala and K V Viswanathan, who stated that they wanted to speak with the parents face-to-face before proceeding.
It asked them to appear in court on January 13 so that it could speak with them in the chamber. Additionally, the court ordered its registry to provide supplementary SG Aishwarya Bhati with the AIIMS medical report.
Additionally, the Supreme Court ordered its registry to provide the AIIMS medical report with additional SG and Harish's father's attorney, Rashmi Nandakumar.
"At this point, we will have to make a definitive decision. Therefore, your full assistance will be needed. We will request one copy of the report from the registry. Examine the report. We'll need your help.
It informed both lawyers, "It's a very sad report, and it will be a big challenge for us too, but we can't keep the boy like this for all time."
Before the next hearing date, the bench also requested that the two attorneys speak with Harish's parents and siblings. "AIIMS, New Delhi, established a supplementary medical board in accordance with our most recent directive, dated December 11.
The patient was medically assessed by the team of physicians, and a report has been sent. The medical history, general examination, neurological examination, additional observations, and diagnostic criteria are all included in the report.
We instruct the registry to give each copy to the learned ASGs, Ms. Rashmi and Ms. Aishwarya Bhati. We want them to investigate the report, research it, and help us with it.
The bench stated, "We ask them to jointly speak with Harish Rana's parents and other family members and provide us with a report in that regard."
In accordance with the SC's passive euthanasia protocol, the primary and secondary medical boards must agree before removing artificial life support.
If there are conflicting reports from the two, the court will decide the matter. An independent committee may be formed to appoint three medical professionals with at least 20 years of experience in critical care from the fields of general medicine, cardiology, neurology, nephrology, psychiatry, or oncology.
On August 20, 2013, Harish fell from the fourth storey. Despite receiving care at several hospitals, his condition did not get better.
The Delhi High Court denied his father's request to have the matter referred to a primary medical board. "The bare reading of the letter would indicate Harish is in a pathetic condition," the court stated last week after reviewing the report of the primary medical board established by Noida District Hospital.
