By Admin 
Wednesday, March 11, 2026, has brought an emotional and legal turning point in the judicial history of India. The Supreme Court has allowed the family of 31-year-old Harish Rana, who has been bedridden for 13 years, to withdraw his life-sustaining treatment. This decision is not just the end of a case, but an interpretation of the right to die with dignity. While there are strict rules for this in India, there are also countries in the world like Switzerland, where it is much easier to choose death.
13 years long wait and legal battle
Harish Rana, a student of Punjab University, was the victim of an accident in the year 2013. Due to falling from the fourth floor of the PG, he suffered such a head injury that he became a victim of 100% ‘quadriplegic disability’. For the last 13 years, he was in Permanent Vegetative State (PVS), that is, his body was intact but his consciousness was zero. His father had appealed to the court to free his son from this painful life. After a long discussion and the report of the medical board, the court has finally given permission to remove his life support system.
Which method will be adopted in India?
The method approved in India is called Passive Euthanasia. In this, the patient is not killed directly by giving any poisonous injection or medicine. Instead, the artificial means that keep the patient alive – such as ventilators, feeding tubes or life support systems – are removed. This process is based on the ‘Common Cause’ decision of 2018. The court believes that when there is no hope of someone’s recovery, forcibly keeping him alive with the help of machines is a violation of his right to a ‘dignified life’.
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In which country even foreigners come to die a dignified death?
Switzerland is considered the most liberal country in the world in terms of euthanasia or assisted suicide. The law here is much easier than in other countries. The biggest specialty of Switzerland is that it is not mandatory for a person to suffer from an incurable disease. If a person wants to die due to his physical disability or extreme tiredness of life, he can get permission. Here, organizations like ‘Dignitas’ provide this facility to foreigners also, which is often called ‘suicide tourism’.
Death procedure in Switzerland
In Switzerland, ‘active euthanasia’ (poisoning by a doctor) is illegal, but ‘assisted suicide’ is legal. The rule here is that the last step will have to be taken by the patient himself. Institutions provide lethal drugs (such as sodium pentobarbital), but it is the patient’s responsibility to drink it or open the valve. In this, direct involvement of the doctor is not necessary at the last moment, it should only be proved that the person helping has no selfishness of his own. This is why it is considered the easiest in terms of accessibility.
Netherlands and Belgium
The Netherlands and Belgium were the first countries to legalize ‘active euthanasia’. Here the doctor himself can inject lethal medicine to the patient. However, the rules here are more strict than Switzerland. Here the patient must be in ‘unbearable pain’ and the medical board has to be convinced that there is no scope for improvement. Additionally, these countries do not keep their processes as open to foreign citizens as Switzerland does, making gaining access here a difficult and lengthy legal process.
Canada’s ‘MAID’ Law and Its Limitations
Canada also has a provision for euthanasia under ‘Medical Assistance in Dying’ (MAID). Here also the condition of incurable disease has been removed, provided the patient’s condition is serious and irreparable. But Canadian law is limited only to its residents. In comparison to India, ‘active euthanasia’ is prevalent in Canada and European countries, whereas India is still limited to only ‘passive euthanasia’ i.e. stopping treatment so that the law cannot be misused.
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