17 July,2026 05:23 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
The decision follows the Supreme Court`s judgment delivered on March 11, 2026 in the Harish Rana (above) case. File Pic
The Maharashtra government has issued a new directive requiring private hospitals to establish primary and secondary medical boards to handle cases involving passive euthanasia and patients' living wills, reported the PTI.
The Government Resolution (GR), issued by the Public Health Department on Friday, lays down the framework for examining requests to withdraw life-sustaining treatment in accordance with Supreme Court guidelines.
The decision follows the Supreme Court's judgment delivered on March 11, 2026 in the Harish Rana case.
The court reaffirmed that any decision to withdraw life-sustaining treatment based on a patient's advance directive, commonly known as a living will, must be reviewed and approved by designated medical boards.
Harish Rana, who remained in a vegetative state for 13 years after suffering severe head injuries in 2013, became the first person in India to be granted passive euthanasia after the Supreme Court permitted the withdrawal of artificial nutrition, hydration and life support.
According to the PTI, under the new guidelines, every private hospital will be required to constitute a Primary Medical Board.
The board will be formed by the hospital's Medical Director, Chief Executive Officer or Medical Superintendent and will include:
The hospital administrator as chairperson.
The treating doctor.
A critical care specialist.
A senior physician or surgeon.
A Secondary Medical Board will also be mandatory.
For hospitals outside Mumbai and Mumbai Suburban districts, it will be constituted under the district civil surgeon.
In Mumbai and Mumbai Suburban, the Medical Superintendent of the state-run JJ Hospital will be part of the approval process, as per the PTI.
The secondary board will include:
The hospital's Medical Director as chairperson.
The treating doctor.
Two specialists with at least five years' experience.
An external specialist nominated by the district civil surgeon.
The district civil surgeon.
The government has instructed district civil surgeons to prepare panels of registered medical practitioners who can serve as external experts on secondary medical boards, the news agency reported.
District authorities have also been directed to inform all private hospitals in their respective areas about the new regulations.
The state government had already introduced a similar mechanism for government hospitals through a Government Resolution issued in November 2024.
The latest order extends the same approval process to private healthcare institutions across Maharashtra to ensure compliance with the Supreme Court's directives.
(with PTI inputs)
