“Sensitize officers to follow SOP for dignified cremation of dead bodies”: Allahabad HC directs UP govt
Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government will submit a detailed standard operating procedure (SOPs) before the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court for dignified cremation of deceased in incidents like the Hathras gang-rape and murder.
The High Court had taken suo motu cognizance of the Hathras rape and murder case on October 1, 2020, and directed the state government to prepare an SOP for dignified cremation of bodies after incidents like these.
A double-judge bench of Justices Rajan Roy and Jaspreet Singh had, on August 5, directed the state government to sensitize and counsel officials/ employees involved in such cremation to strictly follow it and achieve the objective.
“The officers and employees under the state who are to be involved in the cremation of such bodies should be sensitized and counselled to follow the scheme/ SOP strictly, and in a manner so as to achieve the objective rather than to defeat it,” observed the court.
The Court further said: “The observance and adherence to the scheme/ SOP should not be an eye-wash or an empty formality. The letter and spirit of the scheme/ SOP are paramount as it touches upon valuable constitutional and fundamental rights. The entire exercise should be conducted in a solemn manner with due respect to such rights.”
The Court also directed the state government to notify, implement the SOPs and widely publicize it at police stations, hospitals, primary health centres, district headquarters, tehsil, and collectorates, among other places.
On September 30, 2020, the district administration in Hathras cremated the girl during night hours against the wishes of her parents.
Earlier, it had also advised the state government to consider giving a job to a family member of the victim and relocating them to any place outside Hathras.
It may be recalled that a 19-year-old Dalit girl was gang-raped by four persons in a village in Hathras district on September 14, 2020, when she had gone to the fields to collect cattle fodder. She was partially paralyzed in the attack. As her condition deteriorated, she was moved to Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital on September 28 and died in the early hours the next day.
[With Inputs from IANS]
PGurus is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with all the latest news and views
For all the latest updates, download PGurus App.
- PM Modi launches another scathing attack on Congress; says ‘Rajiv Gandhi scrapped inheritance law to save family property’ - April 25, 2024
- TN: ED questions five district collectors in illegal sand mining case - April 25, 2024
- ECI issues show cause notice over alleged MCC violations by PM Modi, Rahul Gandhi; seeks response from BJP, Congress chief - April 25, 2024
