New Delhi, Nov. 27 -- The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Noida district hospital to constitute a "primary board of doctors" to examine a father's plea seeking passive euthanasia for his 31-year-old son, who lives with 100% disability and remains in a permanent vegetative state for the past 12 years. A bench headed by justice JB Pardiwala directed the district hospital in Sector 39, Noida, to submit a medical assessment within two weeks, in a sealed cover. "We direct the Primary Board that may be constituted (by the hospital) to give us a report whether the life sustaining treatment can be withheld or in other words withdrawn," the court said, defining the inquiry around the withdrawal of life-support. The matter will be next heard on December 11. The plea was moved by Ashok Rana, father of Harish, who became quadriplegic in August 2013 after he fell from the fourth floor of his PG accommodation while pursuing BTech at Punjab University. He has since been taken to multiple hospitals and is now supported by tubes for breathing and nutrition. Advocate Rashmi Nandakumar, appearing for the father, told the court that a similar request in November 2024 resulted in an order for treatment at the state's expense, but stressed his health has deteriorated further in the past year and he is now in a "pathetic condition". She added he is being kept artificially alive. Considering the facts, the bench, also comprising justice KV Viswanathan, said, "...Let the Primary Board file its report in a sealed cover at the earliest, preferably, within two weeks."...