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I want to design my rest endpoint with the appropriate method for the following scenario.
There is a group. Each group has a status. The group can be activated or inactivated by the admin.
Should I design my end point as
PUT /groups/api/v1/groups/{group id}/status/activate OR
PATCH /groups/api/v1/groups/{group id} with request body like {action:activate|deactivate} 
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When a client needs to replace an existing Resource entirely, they can use PUT. When they're doing a partial update, they can use HTTP PATCH. For instance, when updating a single field of the Resource, sending the complete Resource representation can be cumbersome and uses a lot of unnecessary bandwidth.
This capability allows a new HTTP method when exposing REST APIs, adding to the already available GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE methods. By definition, the PATCH method applies partial modifications to a resource, making it a lightweight option to PUT.
PUT is a method of modifying resource where the client sends data that updates the entire resource . PATCH is a method of modifying resources where the client sends partial data that is to be updated without modifying the entire data.
In a nutshell: use PUT if and only if you know both the URL where the resource will live, and the entirety of the contents of the resource. Otherwise, use POST.
The PATCH method is the correct choice here as you're updating an existing resource - the group ID. PUT should only be used if you're replacing a resource in its entirety.
Further information on partial resource modification is available in RFC 5789. Specifically, the PUT method is described as follows:
Several applications extending the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) require a feature to do partial resource modification. The existing HTTP PUT method only allows a complete replacement of a document. This proposal adds a new HTTP method, PATCH, to modify an existing HTTP resource.
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