Delhi HC To Hear Plea Seeking Adequate Procedure To Deal With Reporting Of Mysterious Deaths

The Petitioner has moved the present plea as he himself lost his son in mysterious circumstances, and as per the petition, received no substantial assistance from the police or the concerned authorities.

The Petitioner claims in his application that he got to know about his son's mysterious death from the police itself, 3 months after the incident.

Police had shown the photograph of the deceased son to his father and informed the latter about the date of death, without providing any details of the place, the circumstances and the photographs of the funeral of the deceased. On having been asked, the police stated that the police are not supposed to provide the required details about the deceased.

Therefore, the Petitioner seeks the following relief from the court:

1. Order/direction for guidelines on disposal of abandoned dead bodies by the state as the abandoned dead bodies are presently being disposed off in mechanical manner without having mandatory formalities.
2. Call for information regarding the expenses being incurred against the disposal of each abandoned dead bodies and its re-imbursement proof for the purpose of assessment of the pathetic situation in the disposal of abandoned dead bodies.
3. Order/direct the respondents to publicize/advertise the request for identification of the abandoned dead bodies lying unattended in mysterious circumstances through all modes of communication including all major newspapers and news channels of the state.
4. Direct/order the respondent to preserve at least the ashes and physical identity including the cloth and valuable belongings of the abandoned dead bodies for a reasonable period of time for handing over the same to parents/families of the deceased.
5. Direct/order the respondents for carrying out complete videography and photography of the last rites of the abandoned dead bodies in the presence of senior police officer.
6. Order/direction for laying down comprehensive guidelines or appropriate mechanism to investigate the criminal complaints in a time-bound manner which are related to the threats of lives and the progress report on those complaints should be made available to the complainant on a weekly/monthly basis
7. Order/direct the respondents for making complaint committee in each police station, involving the prominent persons of the community which are comprising of persons of impeccable characters and the senior police officer to oversee the timely disposal of the complaints in each police station.

8. Order/direct the respondent to appoint a well-trained counselor at every police station for interaction with common people