The Supreme Court on Friday said it does not have the jurisdiction to intervene in the criminal justice system of a foreign country.

A bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice R V Ravindran said this while refusing to direct the government to facilitate to conduct a second post mortem on the body of a 5-month-old child of a non-resident Indian (NRI), who died in the United Kingdom 7 years back.

The bench dismissed the petition which challenged the order of the Delhi High Court, which said such an order might lead to diplomatic row between India and the United Kingdom .

“It would mean that the Indian court was interfering the criminal investigation system of a foreign country,” said the bench.

The child died there and the first post mortem was conducted in that country, if you had any objection approach the court in England, observed the court.

The government counsel said,  “Serious diplomatic problem would arise if we allow the post-mortem to be conducted in the country as the alleged offence was conducted on a foreign land by a foreign citizen which is beyond our jurisdiction.”

The NRI couple, who arrived with the body of their daughter Sunaina in March 2007, alleged that she had died under mysterious circumstances in a hospital in the UK in 2000 due to medical negligence.

Sadhna Chaudhary, the mother of the deceased, had approached the Apex Court challenging the High Court order which refused to direct the Government to facilitate a second post-mortem in the body, lying in a Delhi government hospital mortuary.

Negligence

The mother alleged that her daughter died due to medical negligence and the UK authorities were protecting the hospital and the post-mortem was not done honestly.

On the representation made by the NRI couple, the Ministry of External Affairs had referred the matter to Ministry of Health which had directed the city Government to conduct the inquest.