Supreme Court Approves Revised Protocol Agreed By Centre & Parsi Body For Funeral Rites Of COVID Victims

In view of the agreement between Surat Parsi Panchayat Board and the Centre over the SOP for disposal of bodies of individuals of Zoroastrian faith who succumbed to COVID, the Supreme Court on Friday gave it imprimatur to the protocol of placing iron rods and grills above the towers of silence across India so that no bird can feed on the bodies and carry COVID strains and the bodies are disposed off only by sun rays.For balancing religious sentiments with health concerns in the manner of last rites of Parsi Zoroastrians who have died in the COVID-19 pandemic, the Supreme Court had on January 17 requested SG Tushar Mehta and Senior Advocate Fali S. Nariman, for the petitioners, to confer with Union Health Ministry officials.The bench of Justices D. Y. Chandrachud and Surya Kant was hearing a plea by the Surat Parsi Panchayat Board for a direction to permit it and its members to perform Dokhmenashini/last rites in Dokhmas of its members having died due to Covid 19, in accordance with their religious practices. The SLP was against the July 2021 judgment of the Gujarat High Court dismissing the petitioners' prayer for declaring the impugned 2020 Covid-19 Guidelines on Dead Body Management, issued by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, as ultra vires Articles 14, 19, 21, 25, 26, and 29 of the Constitution. "The impugned Guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare considering the prevailing situation of Covid-19, in the larger public interest for the disposal of dead bodies by cremation or burial, could not be said to be violative of any fundamental rights of the Parsees, more particularly when such means of disposal of dead bodies is also in vogue in all parts of the country and when it is not anathematic and sacrilegious to the religious practices being followed by the Parsees", the High Court had held.At the hearing on December 6, 2021, when notice was issued, Mr. Nariman had told the Supreme Court, "In Parsis, there are Nasheshalars, who are professional corpse-bearers. But the Guidelines do not mention any other mode of disposal of dead bodies, other than cremation and burial. Article 21 is not just for living people but also for post death...Now, there is a new strain of the virus. It is a live issue"On Friday, the following protocol and SOP, as agreed between the petitioner and the UOI, was placed on record-"1A. Dead bodies of the Parsi Zoroastrians who die of Covid 19 will be brought to the funeral parlour in the Tower of Silence complex and will only be handled by the Nassasalars- (professional Corpse bearers who have been professionally employed by the Panchayats). The corpse bearers are and will continue to be fully vaccinated and their temperatures duly recorded before every funeral and carrying out procedures of handling dead bodies as per existing COVID guidelines. 1B.Neither relatives nor friends are permitted nor will be permitted to touch the dead body and it will be ensured that they will always remain beyond 10 feet from the dead body.2.The Nassasalars, at all times, while handling the dead body of the Parsi Zoroastrian COVID-19 victim will wear the PPE kit, gloves, face shield and N – 95 mask and the Govt of India regulations pertaining to dead bodies of COVID – 19 victims having been read and explained to them and they will be cautioned to follow the directives of the Govt. of India.3.The body of the COVID-19 Parsi victim will be brought by the Nassasalars to the Tower of Silence Complex from mortuary or home in a body bag which will not be opened, but as per existing Guidelines, the face of the deceased will be allowed to be seen from a distance of at least 10 feet by the family only by unzipping the face – covering of the body bag.4.The final funeral prayers i.e. the "GehSarna" (or Paidast) ceremony (which is the recitation of the first Gatha handed down by the Prophet Zarathushtra) over the dead body, is and will be by two Parsi Zoroastrian Priests wearing N-95 masks and gloves, who will stand at a distance of 10 feet from the dead body. The final prayers (which last about 1 hour) will be completed and upon its completion, the Nassasalars will carry the body o the Dokhma (Tower of Silence) where no one except the professionally employed corpse bearers can enter. As per Parsi religious traditions, no relative can touch, or much less kiss the body and every person at the funeral will perform hand hygiene after the funeral ceremony – a distance of at least 10 feet from the body will always be maintained. The individuals who will transport the dead body are the Parsi Nassasalars (the professional pallbearers) and no one else. Normally two Nassasalars will carry the body (in the body bag) to the Tower of Silence (Dokhma No.3) in a bier.5.Relatives attending the Gehsarna (Paidast) ceremony will wear face masks and follow other guidelines as prescribed by the Government of India and will sit 10 feet away from the dead body and only such number of family...

Supreme Court Approves Revised Protocol Agreed By Centre & Parsi Body For Funeral Rites Of COVID Victims

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