Respectful Last Rites Part Of Art. 21: Allahabad HC Takes Suo Moto Cognizance Of Woman’s Skeleton Lying In Morgue For 3 Yrs

The bench comprising Chief Justice Pritinker Diwaker and Justice Ajay Bhanot observed thus:

“Prima facie the right to have mortal remains consigned to elements of nature by the conduct of respectful last rites as per applicable customs also inhere in Article 21 of the Constitution of India.”

The Court also noted that though a family claimed that the remains were of their missing daughter, according to the newspaper report, the identity of the deceased could not be confirmed.

Accordingly, the Court directed the police and the State to provide instructions on the following issues:

“I. The period in which the last rites of a body in a morgue are conducted as per practice and the cause for delay in this case.

II. Whether any rules hold the field which obliges the State authorities to perform the last rites of a body in a morgue within a stipulated period?

III. The details of the investigations and the timeline of events from the preservation of the body in the morgue till date shall be adverted to in the instructions.

IV. The case diary and the status of the investigations shall also be revealed in the instructions. This will include the date on which the samples were extracted and sent to the Hyderabad-based Forensic Science Laboratory for DNA profiling and the date of the DNA report.”

Reference was made to the decision of Justice Bhanot in Sumpurnanand v. State Of U.P. and 2 Others, wherein it has been observed that

“The silence of the dead does not stifle their voice, nor does it extinguish their rights. The dead have their rights, no less tangible than the living. The law asserts their rights, Courts exalt their rights. The right to reputation is one such right.”

Significantly, the Court also observed that the right to reputation under Article 21 is also available to deceased persons.

Accordingly, the Court appointed Advocate Nitin Sharma, Secretary, High Court Bar Association, Allahabad High Court as Amicus Curiae in the case.