A strange case came to light in front of the Delhi High Court on Tuesday wherein the body of a Hindu man, an Indian citizen, were wrongly buried in Saudi Arabia as per Muslim rites due to incorrect translation of his religion on the death certificate by the Indian Consulate officials in Jeddah.
The wife, who has been running from pillar to post to get the body, has approached the high court seeking direction to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to take steps to urgently exhume the remains and repatriate them to India in a time-bound manner.
Justice Prathiba M Singh said the woman has been approaching the authorities since January, after the death of her husband, and adequate steps ought to have been taken to bring back the body of the man to India to conduct the last rites.
"Accordingly, the concerned officer from the external affirs ministry not below the rank of deputy secretary shall join the proceedings on March 18 to apprise this court about the update on steps taken and status on transportation of mortal remains of the deceased," the judge said, adding that it was an "unfortunate" case.
The Indian man Sanjeev Kumar had died on January 24 in Saudi Arabia, where he was working, due to cardiac arrest, and his body was kept at a hospital there. Petitioner Anju Sharma said in the plea that on getting the news of her husband's death, the family requested the authorities to repatriate the body.
Shockingly, on February 18, the Petitioner was informed that the body of her husband has been buried in Saudi Arabia while the family members were waiting for the body in India.
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