PIL in SC for judicial probe into recovery of bodies from Ganga

The PIL accused state authorities of 'inhuman' lapses

A PIL has been filed in the Supreme Court for setting up a Special Investigation Team to supervise the probe into the death of over 100 people whose corpses were found floating in the river Ganga in Buxar of Bihar and Ghazipur and Unnao districts of Uttar Pradesh, as the country battles the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

The petition was filed by two lawyers Pradeep Yadav and Vishal Thakre, who also sought to direct state authorities to conduct a postmortem of the dead bodies, accusing them of "inhuman" lapses.

Also read: Priyanka Gandhi demands judicial probe into bodies floating in Ganga

The petitioners contended that the recovery of the decomposed bodies from Ganga raised a serious concern. The river is a source of water for many areas and if the bodies were of Covid-19 patients, then it might lead to a spread of the infection in villages in both Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

"The act of the states is inhuman as they failed to provide facilities for decent burial/cremation of dead bodies and to keep a check on pollution of the holy river, Ganga by such indecent act either of individual or of authorities," the petition said.

Also read: Shallow graves and bodies in the river: Covid-19 hits India's villages

They also claimed states till now have not taken any single effective step towards the purification of water, which was a violation of Article 21 of the Constitution.

They also alleged that the present case showed the failure of the state in keeping a check of crematorium which charged exorbitant prices on people for the cremation of bodies during the pandemic.

The petitioners cited the Pt Parmanand Katara case, wherein the top court had held that the right to dignity and fair treatment under Article 21 of the Constitution was not only available to a man during his life but also to his body after his death.