The Centre has assured the Delhi High Court that the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) have been issued by it in the form of detailed guidelines for importation of human remains related to COVID-19. The court was hearing a plea seeking direction to repatriate the mortal remains of a person who died in the UAE. Justice Sanjiv Sachdeva heard the matter through video conferencing on Monday and allowed the petitioner to withdraw the plea after Counsel for the petitioner submitted that with the intervention of Central and Uttarakhand government and with the efforts of Roshan Raturi, Social Worker at the UAE, the mortal remains of the brother of the petitioner reached Delhi on Monday morning and were transported to Uttarakhand where the deceased’s last rites were performed. The mortal remains of Kamlesh Bhatt, who died of a heart attack in Abu Dhabi on April 17, were sent to India by Etihad airport services cargo on April 23, respectfully to Delhi from the UAE but the cargo company was not allowed to unload the body of the victim due to some immigration issue despite having complete documentation and legal formalities, the petition stated. “Later, the human remains of the deceased were sent back to the UAE on the same flight without citing any order/notification/circular or furnishing any medical report by a medical officer or giving any explanation or reason to the petitioner who kept praying for handing over of the mortal remains of his 24-year-old younger brother,” the plea said. The petition was filed by the deceased’s brother Vimlesh Bhatt, resident of Tehri Garhwal in Uttarakhand. He sought a direction to the authorities to bring back the mortal remains of Kamlesh on April 17. The family had received the information that Kamlesh died due to cardiac arrest. Earlier, the Centre sought time to find out from the embassy concerned about the location and condition of the mortal remains of Kamlesh whose body was returned to Abu Dhabi from Delhi due to immigration issues. During the hearing, the Centre assured the court that it being a unique case, the government has issued SOPs in the form of guidelines for importation of human remains so that no difficulty arises in similar matters.
