Who are we to decide about someone’s life: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its decision on the plea of a man for permission to withdraw medical support for his 32-year-old son who has been in a vegetative state for the last almost 13 years.

Hearing the matter, a bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and K V Viswanathan said “these are very delicate issues. We decide matters every day, but who are we to decide about someone’s life? We are only mortals”.

The patient, Harish Rana, suffered head injuries after falling from the fourth floor of an apartment in Chandigarh in August 2013. He has been on artificial support ever since.