India, March 12 -- In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday allowed the withdrawal of life support for a 32-year-old man who has been in a vegetative state for over 13 years following a tragic accident, acting on a request from his parents. The ruling is the first such direction in an individual case after the court's 2018 judgment permitting passive euthanasia.

Harish Rana, a student of Panjab University, suffered severe head injuries after falling from the fourth floor of his paying guest accommodation in 2013 and has remained in a coma since.

A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan delivered the verdict, allowing passive euthanasia in line with the court's Common Cause v Union of India ruling, later mod...