Protests with dead bodies to be punishable offence

JAIPUR: The Rajasthan government is planning to bring a bill against demonstration with dead bodies and will make this an offence punishable with imprisonment, said an official of the home department.

Those who create hurdle in disposal of the body will also be liable to be punished.

“The Rajasthan Prohibition of Demonstration with Dead Body Bill is work in progress,” said the official.

There have been several instances in the state where bodies were used for protests and demonstrations. The home department thinks this rots the body and also creates law and order problems. Protesters use body to mount pressure on the government for their demands.

Soon, all this may become illegal.

The Rajasthan State Human Right Commission had, a few months ago, asked the government to bring in a law making the use of a corpse for staging demonstrations or violent protests or for seeking monetary compensation or to get any demand fulfilled as a punishable offence.

This, the commission said, is violation of the human rights of the corpse.

In October 2019, the Commission citing the Anandpal Singh encounter case, had recommended that use of a corpse in any agitation or for seeking monetary compensation be made a punishable offence.

In an order, Commission chairperson Justice Prakash Tatia said no person including the family members of a deceased person can deny the corpse a respectful funeral.

He said till the physical body of a dead person is not disposed of, it comes under the category of a living being and has human rights. The commission had sent the recommendations to the state government for necessary action.

He noted that it has become common practice to keep dead bodies at public places, homes, government or private hospitals and use them to build pressure on the government, administration, police, hospitals or doctors to gain money or any other benefit. He said even corpses of criminals were being used to put pressure on the government and administration.

In this regard he cited the Anandpal Singh encounter case in which the family members did not allow the funeral to take place for several days held a violent agitation putting pressure on the government to concede to their demands.

The new bill will propose punishment with imprisonment for those who use body for demonstration or protest to raise any demand.