An NGO, Pravasi Legal Cell, on Saturday filed a plea in the Supreme Court for a direction to the Centre to take steps for bringing back mortal remains of the Indian citizens died due to accidents or other non COVID-19 reasons.
The petitioner claimed that unusual process of demanding no-objection certificate by the authorities here in India, made the whole repatriation a tedious process. As a result of this, a number of bodies of Indian citizens who died of non-COVID-19 aliments are lying abandoned in airports especially in countries like Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, UAE and Saudi Arabia, it said.
"Denial of repatriation of body of Indian expatriate to the country for decent burial/cremation is clearly in violation of fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution," it said.
The petitioner also pointed out the Supreme Court has time and again held that the right to decent burial is a facet of right to life and the right to dignity and fair treatment under Article 21 of the Constitution was not only available to a living person, but also to his or her body after death.
This is the third PIL by the NGO this month. It had earlier sought a direction to the Union government to bring back Indian migrants stranded in Gulf countries, on emergence of COVID-19. It filed a plea for a direction to the domestic and international flight operators to refund full amount of ticket of the flights cancelled during the period of lockdown.
In the instant petition, the NGO again sought a direction to rescue and bring back the Indian migrants stranded in Gulf countries, living in vulnerable condition in labour accommodations. It also asked the court to direct the government to ensure food and adequate medical facilities for them.
(Published 25 April 2020, 11:56 IST)
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