1. Supreme Court responds to Manipur ethnic violence with permission for the state to issue a one-week public notice.
2. Next of kin have the opportunity to claim bodies within the specified period.
3. Unclaimed bodies may be buried or cremated by the state as deemed necessary.
Imphal, Nov 28: In response to the ethnic violence in Manipur, the Supreme Court granted the state permission to issue a public notice, giving one week for the next of kin of the deceased to claim the bodies.
If unclaimed after this period, the state is authorized to conduct burials or cremations as required. The decision came after a committee of retired high judges, appointed by the Supreme Court, submitted a report on the matter.
The three-judge bench, led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and including Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, acknowledged the report and permitted the state to issue a public notice. The notice will state that if the bodies, which have been identified, are not claimed within a week, the state will proceed with the burial or cremation.
The court directed the state authorities to inform the next of kin of the identified bodies about the nine burial sites available. This process is to be completed on or before December 4.
For the identified bodies that have been claimed, the next of kin has the right to carry out the last rites at any of the nine burial sites without interference. The court emphasized the importance of carrying out these rites with due observance of religious practices.
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For unidentified bodies, the state is permitted to conduct burials or cremations with appropriate religious rites, ensuring the maintenance of law and order.
The court also addressed concerns raised during the proceedings, acknowledging that many bodies were in mortuaries in Imphal while families, who were in villages like Churachandpur and other locations, may face challenges in accessing them.
It directed the chief secretary and state administration to make necessary facilitative arrangements so that next of kin in relief camps or elsewhere could access the bodies for identification or the performance of last rites. The court also mandated the drawing of DNA samples before the burial or cremation process for bodies where such samples were not taken during autopsies.
