Noting that the plea by the widow of Dr Simon Hercules to disinter his mortal remains from Velangadu crematorium to Kilpauk Cemetery has already been rejected by the Greater Chennai Corporation, the Madras High Court dismissed a public interest litigation seeking the court to direct the government to exhume the body and bury it as per the choice of the doctor’s family.
Ambulance carrying Dr Simon’s body that was damaged by a mob
Chennai:
While dismissing a plea moved by Sathiyanarayanan Selvanathan, a social activist, a division bench comprising Justice M Sathaynarayanan and Justice M Nirmal Kumar said even assuming for the sake of argument that the court is inclined to grant the relief sought by the petitioner, the court was of the view that the writ petition was not maintainable because the request made by the widow of the deceased has been rejected by the government.
“However, if the family members of (Dr Simon) approach this court by making a challenge to the said rejection order, this court would take a call on the said litigation,” the bench added.
The petitioner had said that on account of COVID-19 virus infection and other medical complications, Dr Simon Hercules breathed his last. The mortal remains of the deceased were not allowed to be buried in the Kilpauk cemetery due to law and order problem. Instead, it was buried elsewhere, the petitioner said, and sought for a direction to rebury the body in the cemetery as sought by his family.