Kriti Agrawal
The Youth Bar Association of India has petitioned the Supreme Court for directions on how to remove dead bodies floating in the Ganga River and ensure that no one is permitted to put bodies into any river because it poses an environmental concern.
The plea was filed after a Bench led by Justice DY Chandrachud made an observation yesterday in the Suo Moto covid case on floating dead bodies in the river, pertaining to an incident in Balrampur, Uttar Pradesh, where a dead body was thrown into the river by two people.
The plea, filed by Advocate Manju Jetley and prepared by Advocates Sanpreet Singh Ajmani, Bably Singh, Paranshu Kaushal, and Bhavya Pratap Singh, contends that stories of multiple bodies seen floating in the Ganga went viral when India was in the midst of the pandemic’s second wave.
It goes on to say that “Though there is no specific law in India that protects the rights of dead people, in the case of Parmanand Katara v. Union of India, this Hon’ble Court recognized that the Right to Life, Fair Treatment, and Dignity, derived from Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, extends not only to living people but also to dead bodies.”
The petition also mentions the National Human Rights Commission’s rules on the care of deceased remains, which were issued on May 14, 2021, and asks for their implementation.
It also emphasizes the sacred aspect of the Ganga River and asserts that the dead bodies will ultimately result in different environmental and health hazards.
In view of the foregoing, the petition requests that the federal and state governments take appropriate actions to guarantee that the dead bodies are removed and that no one is authorized to toss them into the river.
The plea also requests a standard operating procedure (SOP) for the proper and dignified cremation of dead remains in accordance with the traditions.
Another petition was recently filed in the Supreme Court, asking for directions to form a three-tier committee at the federal, state, and panchayat levels to oversee the dignified disposal of bodies, as well as to declare the Ganga riverbed an ecologically sensitive area that should be protected and preserved.