Hathras: Retd. Judicial Officer, Advocates Move SC For Court Monitored Investigation, Penal Action Against State Authorities, Strict Implementation Of Rape Laws [Read Petitions]

The Supreme Court has been moved in two PILs in the wake of the unfortunate incident of the brutal gang-rape in Hathras, UP.The first plea, by Chandra Bhan Singh, retired Judicial Officer, states the petitioner is antsy and dismayed by the bizarre acts of the U.P State machinery. "The victim, a 19 year old girl, fromHathras, U.P, who as per newspaper reports, was gang-raped, assaulted to the hilt leading to multiple fracture of bone and rib, her tongue and other body parts were mutilated. For a fortnight she valiantly fought with death and finally on 29thSeptember, succumbed at Safdarjung Hospital. The events followed her death which was orchestrated high handedly by the State Administration, Government of U.P is not less gruesome, irksome, and ignominious asthe cadaver of the 19 Year old girl was treated like garbage and burn to ashes at 2.30 in the intervening night of 20-30 September 2020. Now the village is fortified by the Administration with barricades due to furtive fallacy", it is narrated.The plea, through advocate Smarhar Singh, asks that if upon investigation guilt is established for treating the cadaver/corpse of the victim in an undignified manner then "Whether this Hon'ble Court is duty bound under Article 32 of the constitution of India to issue direction for lodging criminal prosecution against the erring respondents under section 297 of IPC or any other germane provision of law as the state administration/Police itself being the perpetrator".Asserting that 'Salmond' the legal philosopher has said that there are three things in respect of which the concern extend and transcend even after the death i.e body, reputation and property, the petitioner, in such conspectus, asks whether right to dignified cremation/burial is an integral facet of Article 21 of the constitution of India and if so then whether the said fundamental right of the victim and her family has been denied, seized and snatched by the State Administration."Whether customary rituals practiced and professed by Hindu family upon a dead person during cremation/last rites comes within the purview of Article 25 of the Constitution of India, if so, then whether denial to profess, participate and conduct the last rites is not only violative of Article 25 of the constitution of India but also is a penal offence", the plea questions.Besides, it places for the deliberation of the court whether the word and expression 'person' in Article 21 includes a dead person to whom the right to life should be extended in such a manner that his dead body is given the same respect/dignity to which such person is entitled had the person been alive subject to his customary law, tradition, culture and religion which the person profess."The scripts, verses and stanzas of 'GARUR PURAN', the guiding granth for Hindus since time immemorial tangibly, speaks that for salvation and to bestow peace to the departed soul, inter-alia, methodology is prescribed for cremation, last rite. Any wilfultransgression or omission of those customary rituals results in inflicting pain to the departed soul and the remaining alive member of his/her family are considered as sinner. Then whether the respondent No-3 to 7 who supervised and orchestrated the arson/torching of the dead body of victim young girl and also denying/ forcefully obstructing and locking the father and brother to participate in the cremation should be prosecuted and penalized?", the petitioner seeks to ask.It is stated that the Right to dignified life and fair treatment bestowed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India is not only available to a living man but also to his/her body after demise. "Whether the acts, omission of the State Administration in general and Prashant Kumar, ADG, Law and Order in particular, resulted in infringement of the rights of the victim deceased and his family hence they are liable for penal action", it is argued."This Hon'ble Court acknowledge that the Government should take steps for a decent burial even to unclaimed bodies hence the case in hand which is a sordid saga of arson of the cadaver of victim of Gang rape, mutilation, amputation of tongue (by 04 co-villagers) by the respondent Nos-3 to 7 and that too without pouring ghee but some other inflammable thing upon the corpse so that it turns into ashes swiftly in the intervening night i.e 2-3 AM of 20-30 September 2020, warrants appropriate direction U/A 32 of the Constitution as the felons are the State agencies", it is asserted.It is submitted that Arun Shourie Authored 'Worshipping false Gods' with a failed endeavor to undermine the stature of Dr. Ambedkar as well as to decimate the de facto prevalence of discrimination in our civilized society. He called it a hyperbole and braggadocio created by Dr. Ambedkar. It was written with a motive to stride on the hidden agenda of his ideological affiliation. A rejoinder namely'Who Worship False Gods' was scripted by Mr. Ganga Das who born in a poor Dalit family in...

Hathras: Retd. Judicial Officer, Advocates Move SC For Court Monitored Investigation, Penal Action Against State Authorities, Strict Implementation Of Rape Laws [Read Petitions]

Mehal Jain

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