Calcutta High Court Directs State Authorities To Hand Over Unclaimed Body Of Advocate To Bar Association

The Calcutta High Court has allowed the plea of an Advocate seeking handing over of the unclaimed dead body of an Advocate to the Bar Association for performing the last rites.

A public interest petition was filed by Advocates Manabendranath Bandhopadhyay of the Calcutta High Court stating that a member of the Bar Association had expired a few days ago and there was no one to claim his dead body.

Therefore, it was prayed that the body needs to be handed over to the office bearers of the Bar Association No. 18 for performing the last rites.

Advocate Biswabrata Basu Mallick appeared on behalf of the petitioner whereas State was represented by Advocate General SN Mookherjee. Advocate Billwadal Bhattacharyya appeared for the Union of India.

The Court was informed that the body was kept in the mortuary of State General Hospital.

The Bench of Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj noted that no relative of the deceased was known and no one had come forward to take the body till now. Therefore the friends of the deceased Advocate and office bearers of the Bar Association had come forward with the plea to hand over the dead body to them for performing the last rites.

The Court noted that the state authorities had no objection in granting this relief.

Therefore the Court directed the State authorities to hand over the dead body of the deceased Advocate to the Bar Association without any unnecessary delay.

"The State authorities are directed to hand over the dead body of deceased Kaushik Dey to the petitioner/Mr. Kallol Mondal (Vice President of Bar Association)/Mr. Biswabrata Basu Mallick (Secretary of the Bar Association) without any unnecessary delay as per rule on completion of due formalities.", the Bench stated.

The Court also clarified that handing over of the body was for the limited purpose of performance of last rites and the same shall not affect any legal right of any legal heir etc.

The Court stated that the original death certificate will be handed over by the authorities to the Secretary of the Bar Association who will keep it safely for handing it over if any lawful claimant comes forward later.

Cause Title- Manabendranath Bandhopadhyay v. State of West Bengal & Ors.

Click here to read/download the Order