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Rajasthan passes bill that penalises protests with dead body
The Rajasthan assembly has passed a bill that prohibits protests with a family member's body, imposing a two-year jail term for violators. The bill aims to prevent the use of dead bodies to press "unjustified demands" and to provide dignity to the deceased.
JAIPUR: The Rajasthan assembly on Thursday passed a bill that prohibits people from holding protests along with a family member’s body and provides for a two-year jail term to punish violators.
The Rajasthan Honour of Dead Body Bill, which was introduced on Tuesday, gives police the power to take possession of a body if they have reason to believe that it would be used by an unlawful assembly or family members for remonstration.
Rajasthan’s parliamentary affairs minister Shanti Dhariwal said the bill was proposed in view of an spike in instances where protests were held using dead bodies to press “unjustified demands”.
The minister said there were no adequate provisions in the existing laws to act against people who used bodies to put pressure on the authorities.
“Likewise, to keep a record of unclaimed bodies, protection of genetic data information through DNA profiling and digitization and confidentiality of information are need of the hour,” he said, adding that the law, apart from providing dignity to dead bodies, will also work as deterrent against rising trend of remonstrations.
According to the bill, any family member, who does not take possession of the dead body, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term, which may extend to one year or with fine or with both.
Any person, who uses a family member’s body for remonstration or consents to any other person using the body for remonstration, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term, which may extend to two years and with fine, said the bill.
The minister said human dignity with which living human being is expected to be treated, should also be extended to a person, who is dead and the right to accord decent burial or cremation to the dead bodyof a person, should be taken to be a part of the right to such dignity.
