This 56-year-old does want his wife, daughter to perform his last rites, moves Delhi High Court!

New Delhi, Sept 20: A Delhi resident with cardiac ailments has approached the Delhi High court to ensure his last rites are not performed by his family members including his wife, daughter and son-in-law after his death. Kunj Bihari Bansal desires that his dead body be handed over to a person who looked after him during his ailment when he was bedridden.

 

In order to do so, the Delhi High Court on Monday directed the counsel for Delhi Government to take instructions on a plea moved by a 56-years-old Delhi resident. Earlier, he moved a plea seeking protection of his rights with respect to the performance of his last rite post his death. He challenged the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) of the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Delhi Government which directs that the dead body is to be given to relatives only.

 

 

In the petition, he said he was subjected to cruelty by his family members. He was looked after by a man who is not related to him. That man even cleaned his defecation. He said that he was treated very cruelly and badly by his wife and daughter and this brought him a lot of sorrow. It is not known when his end will come and he does not want his wife, daughter, and son-in-law to lay a claim on his dead body as per the SOP of the Delhi Government which is ultra vires the rights of the petitioner.

 

The plea filed through Advocate Vishweshwar Shrivastav and Manoj Gautam stated that the Right of the Petitioner to prescribe the modus of his last rights is his unalienable right as per Article 21 of the Constitution of India and is also his right under the common law as it is his dead body which will be cremated so he has a right to choose the person who shall perform the same.

 

Justice Yashwant directed the counsel for Delhi Government to take instructions on the plea. The matter has been listed on October 18, 2022.