The Delhi High Court on Thursday took suo moto cognizance of the violation of human rights while handling the bodies of people who died due to COVID-19 infection in an inhumane way.
A division bench comprised of Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw & Justice Asha Menon of Delhi High Court while conducting hearing through video conferencing took the suo moto cognizance based on a newspaper report.
The Delhi edition of Thursday’s newspaper reported that:
- inside the COVID-19 Mortuary of LokNayak Hospital in Delhi, there are 108 bodies; all 80 storage racks are full and there are 28 bodies on the floor, piled on top of each other;
- LokNayak Hospital is the largest dedicated COVID – 19 hospital in the city and its mortuary is the repository of bodies of those who died of the coronavirus disease or are suspected to have died of it;
- on 26.05.2020, eight bodies were returned from Nigam Bodh Ghat, CNG Crematorium because the facility was not in a position to accept more bodies, as only two of the six furnaces were working;
- bodies of those who died 5 days ago, are yet to be cremated;
- the backlog in the disposal of bodies has been caused owing to non-functioning of CNG furnaces at Nigam Bodh and Punjabi Bagh crematoriums;
- owing to the CNG furnaces not functioning, wood-based cremation, which earlier was not deemed safe, has been permitted; despite the same being permitted, the personnel operating the said crematoriums are refusing to take part in wood-based cremations;
- there is unrest at the Nigam Bodh Ghat; the staff and priests working there have stopped functioning.
The division bench in its order observed that “We, as citizens of Delhi, are pained at the aforesaid state of affairs and as judges find the situation as reported and if true, to be highly dissatisfactory and violative of the rights of the dead.”
Referring to the Pt. Parmanand Katara, Advocate vs. Union of India, (1995) 3 SCC 248 judgment of the Supreme Court in which the apex court held that right to dignity and fair treatment under Article 21 of the Constitution of India is not only available to a living man but also his body, after his death. The bench further referred to the case of Ashray Adhikar Abhiyan vs. Union of India (2002) 2 SCC 27in which the right to decent burial or cremation has been emphasized upon by the Supreme Court.
The High Court has directed to forward the order to Delhi Government, North Delhi Municipal Corporation, South Delhi Municipal Corporation, and East Delhi Municipal Corporation, who are entrusted of various Cremation and burial grounds in Delhi, to enable them to obtain instructions and present the facts before this Court.
-India Legal Bureau