New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued directions for ensuring dignified burial or cremation of the persons who were killed in the Manipur’s ethnic violence.
A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said that it would not be appropriate to keep the bodies indefinitely in the mortuaries.
It also said that the Collector and Superintendent of Police shall take appropriate steps for the maintenance of law and order during the last rites.
A committee appointed by the Supreme Court, headed by justice (retired) Gita Mittal, reported that 169 of the 175 bodies have been identified while six have not been identified, with 81 claimed and 88 unclaimed.
The Court also noted that Manipur Municipalities Act contains guidelines about dealing with unclaimed dead bodies and empowers the State to provide its own funds for their free burial or cremation.
The Manipur government has identified nine sites where the burial or cremation can take place.
During the hearing, the Court directed that the list of identified bodies should be duly intimated to the next of kin and the last rites should be performed with dignity and observance of religious rites of the community.
It added that DNA samples should be drawn before the burial takes place since the criminal investigation is underway.
“All the next of kin of the bodies, which have been identified and claimed, would be permitted to carry out last rites at any of the identified nine burial sites without any interference by any party whatsoever,” the apex court directed.
In order to effectuate the direction, State shall intimate the next of kin about the nine burial sites and this shall be completed on or before December 4, the court said.
With regard to unclaimed bodies, the state shall issue another communication to the next of kin that they are at liberty to carry out last rites together with religious rites at any of the burial/cremation site.
The bench said it would hear on December 4 the issues raised in the committee’s report about acceptance of ex-gratia to kin of the victims.
Nearly 200 people have been killed since the ethnic clashes erupted between the Meitei community and tribal Kuki-Zo community, on May 3. Several hundred people were injured and tens of thousands internally displaced in the violence, which is still ongoing in some locations.
