Delhi High Court Stays Motor Accident Tribunal's Order Directing Digging Of Deceased’s Grave For DNA Test To Verify Legal Heirs

The Delhi High Court has stayed an order passed by Motor Accident Claim Tribunal directing that the grave of a deceased man be dug up to conduct a DNA test for verifying the claim of compensation by various individuals asserting to be his legal heirs.

Justice Rekha Palli observed that the Tribunal failed to appreciate that a DNA test cannot be ordered in a routine manner. Reliance was made on the Supreme Court ruling in Aparna Ajinkya Firodia v. Ajinkya Arun Firodia.

The court was hearing a plea moved by persons claiming to be legal heirs of the deceased Sujaat Ali, who passed away in a motor vehicle accident. They challenged the Tribunal’s order dated December 12, 2022.

The Tribunal passed the exhumation order after taking into account the Detailed Accident Report (DAR) filed by the Investigating Officer. The Tribunal had observed that the petitioners are “greedy persons” who are trying to get compensation, even though they were not related to the deceased.

The counsel appearing for the petitioners submitted that the presumption of the Tribunal was wholly incorrect and that once the Investigating Officer was directed to conduct further investigation and the report was awaited, no such directions could have been passed.

The court said that once a further investigation by the police was already directed, the directions for digging up of the grave of a dead person to carry out a DNA test were “wholly unwarranted.”

“It appears that the learned Tribunal has failed to appreciate that the DNA test cannot be ordered in such a routine manner,” it added.

Staying the impugned order till May 19, the court granted four weeks’ time to the respondents for filing counter affidavit in the matter.

“Taking into account that the matter before the learned Tribunal was on the basis of a DAR and not on the basis of any claim preferred by the petitioners, even the observations that the petitioners were greedy persons who were trying to extract compensation also appears to be unjustified,” the court said.

Title: SUJAAT ALI (DECEASED) THROUGH LRS v. GOVERNMENT OF N.C.T OF DELHI & ORS.

Click Here To Read Order