The Commission has observed that though there is no law to protect the rights of the dead in the country, however, drawing references from the interpretation of the Constitutional mechanism, various court judgements, international covenants and government’s guidelines, it has said that it is the duty of state to protect the rights of the deceased and prevent crime over the dead body, and prepare an SOP in consultation with all stakeholders so that the dignity of the dead is maintained.

The NHRC on Friday issued an advisory to the Centre and all states and union territories in which it laid out a range of recommendations for protecting the dignity and the rights of the dead people in the wake of reports of alleged mishandling of bodies of Covid-19 victims. In a statement, the National Human Rights Commission said the recommendations include enacting of a specific legislation to protect the rights of the dead, adding that “mass burial or cremation should not be allowed to take place as it is in violation of the right to dignity of the dead”.

“The hospital administration should be explicitly prohibited from deliberately retaining any dead body on the count of pending bill payment; the unclaimed bodies must be stored under safe conditions,” the recommendations read. The advisory gathers significance in the context of the NHRC on Thursday, issuing notices to the Centre, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh governments on a complaint about bodies found floating in the river Ganga.

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