CHENNAI: The
Madras high court on Wednesday directed the Chennai Corporation to exhume the body of
Dr Simon Hercules, who died of
Covid-19 in April 2020, from a burial ground at Vellangadu and rebury it in a cemetery at Kilpauk as requested by his family.
Justice Abdul Quddhose passed the order while allowing a plea moved by Dr Simon’s widow Anandhi Simon. The court made it clear that the dignity of the deceased should be maintained throughout the process.
Dr Hercules, who was a neurosurgeon and the manager managing director of New Hope Medical Centre in Kilpauk, died of Covid-19 on April 19. Locals opposed the burial of the doctor’s body at the
Kilpauk cemetery as they feared it would cause the spread of the infection in the area. The body was taken to a burial ground at Vellangadu There too locals protested and attacked people who accompanied the body. They damaged an ambulance that carried the body. Later, the body was buried with the help of police.
Anandhi sought reburial of his mortal remains at the Kilpauk cemetery as per his last wish. On April 25, 2020 the Chennai Corporation rejected her request. The corporation said that a committee of public health experts had advised it not to permit reburial of the body to minimise risk to public health.
Aggrieved, Anandhi moved the high court challenging the rejection order.