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Keep Lawrence’s body: Kerala HC to Ernakulam Hospital
The Kerala high court on Monday directed that the mortal remains of veteran Communist leader MM Lawrence be kept in the mortuary at the Ernakulam Government Medical College Hospital (GMCH).
The Kerala high court on Monday directed that the mortal remains of veteran Communist leader MM Lawrence be kept in the mortuary at the Ernakulam Government Medical College Hospital (GMCH) as the issue over its donation for research ‘requires to be dealt with in detail.’
The HC bench of Justice VG Arun was hearing a petition filed by Lawrence’s daughter Asha challenging the decision of the advisory committee of the GMCH to accept the remains for advanced research as per the statements of the leader’s eldest son and two others.
ML Sajeevan, Lawrence’s son, told the committee that his father desired to donate his body for medical research. His sister, Sujatha Boban, withdrew her consent given earlier for the body to be donated. Asha also told the committee that there was no written record of her father agreeing to the same and demanded that the remains be handed to her so that they could be buried as per Christian rituals.
Asha told the HC on Monday that there were irregularities in the meeting of the hospital’s advisory committee and pointed to her sister’s withdrawal of consent for the remains to be donated.
“This court is of the opinion that the matter requires to be dealt with in detail. In the meanwhile, the state attorney shall get instructions as to when an authority superior to the officer who passed the impugned order can be directed to decide the issue,” the court said, posting the next hearing in the case to Thursday.
Lawrence, a one-time CPM MP and long-time member of the party’s central committee, succumbed to age-related illnesses at the age of 95 on September 21. He was an accused in the infamous attack on the Edappally police station in 1950 at a time when the Communist party was banned. He also functioned as the convenor of the LDF for nearly 11 years.
