Deceased Person Has Equal Right Over His Mortal Remains As A Living Being: Kerala High Court Observes Orally

Court said it does not know the status between the parties (petitioner and deceased) and thus refrained from passing any orders for inquest or post-mortem without hearing the deceased's immediate family. It went on to observe,

“I believe that a human being like any of us have a right beyond our death over our body…I am speaking for him (deceased) now. I am treating him as a person who would have control over his body had he been alive. Now the fundamental prerequisite is that the mortal remains is dealt with dignity and that too quickly. You cannot keep it pending forever. Now if there is no legal impediments in conducting the inquest and post mortem being done, I would require that to be done and the report to be placed before the Court.”

The man passed away on February 4 after falling from his flat. The Court was informed today that no post-mortem has been conducted yet since an inquest is required. The deceased's family is likely to appear before the Court tomorrow.

"Let us see what they (deceased's family) say when they come tomorrow...by then I hope the inquest will also be over and then we will be able to do the post mortem and when that is cleared, the next stage starts how we deal with the mortal remains...we will ensure the deceased remains at peace eternally," Justice Ramachandran told the petitioner's counsel Advocate Prashanth Padmanabhan.

The Counsel appearing on behalf of the Aster Medicity Hospital, Advocate Pooja Menon submitted that the hospital did not insist on payment of any amount though they're aware they'll have to forego an amount as large as Rs. 1.3 lakhs. The counsel added that the hospital only takes a stand only “in altruism and in public spirit” and any reference by the petitioner regarding the demand of payment is not tenable.

Government Pleader Sunil Kumar Kuriakose stated that the parents of the deceased have been notified of the requirement of an inquest. The Court was also informed that post-mortem has also not been conducted yet. 

The Counsel for the petitioner submitted that since the petitioner was the live-in partner of the deceased, he also has certain rights and that he will enumerate those rights in the next hearing. The petitioner also added that he will not “stand in the way of the desires of the parents of the deceased in any manner”.

The matter has been posted for tomorrow.

The plea has been moved by Advocates Padma Lakshmi and Haseena T

Case Title: Jebin Joseph v. State of Kerala 

Case Number: WP (C) No. 4636 of 2024