The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Friday issued an advisory to all states to ensure the dignified disposal of bodies on the ground that the fundamental right to life and dignity guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution should extend to the dead.

The advisory comes at a time bodies are being handled in a cavalier and inhuman manner as crematoriums and burial grounds overflow with the Covid dead. Relatives are also being forced to dispose of bodies in rivers, unable to find space at crematoriums or failing to pay the exorbitant rates being charged at many places.

The NHRC issued recommendations, including enactment of legislation for the disposal of bodies. It recalled that the Supreme Court had recognised that the right to life, fair treatment and dignity should be extended to the dead.

“There is no specific law in India for protecting the rights of the dead. However, the courts have time and again reiterated to uphold the dignity and protect the rights of the dead,” the NHRC said.

“These rights have been derived from Article 21 of the Constitution. Further, recognition of posthumous legal rights gives the dead significant moral standing within our legal system. The law also strives to honour a decedent’s wishes and to protect his interests,” the commission said in a statement.

According to the commission, in both natural and unnatural deaths it is the duty of the State to protect the rights of the deceased and prevent crimes over bodies.

The NHRC issued the following recommendations:

⚫ Enact specific legislation to protect the rights of the dead and uphold their dignity.

⚫ Set up temporary crematoriums to avoid delay.

⚫ Sensitise the staff at crematoriums, burial grounds and cemeteries about proper handling of bodies. The staff should be given safety equipment.

⚫ Allow those last rites that do not require touching the bodies.

⚫ In cases where families are not in a position to perform the last rites, the state or local administration may do so.

⚫ Encourage use of electric crematoriums to avoid health hazards posed by smoke from burning pyres.

⚫ Piling of bodies during transportation or at any other place must not be allowed.

⚫ Mass burials and cremations should not be permitted.

⚫ Proper identification of bodies must be done, as also handling of information on the diseased.

⚫ Curbing arbitrary hikes in ambulance or hearse charges.

⚫ Staff handling bodies should be protected and fairly paid. They should be vaccinated on priority.