City mortuaries using rusted knives for autopsy, HC told

Mortuaries in the city are still using outdated and rusted implements to carry out post mortems despite Delhi High Court's directions to the administration two months back to rectify the situation and the government's assurance that the equipment would be upgraded in a week.
In a report filed in the high court by amicus curiae Saqib, who had again inspected some city mortuaries on November 16 pursuant to the court's directions on September 16 and October 1, has said that when he had visited mortuaries managed by Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital (GTBH) and Aruna Asaf Ali Hospital, he found that the older tools had not been replaced.

He also found that "essential items like salt-used for preserving viscera of post mortem cases - and PVC mortuary sheets for covering the bodies after the autopsy have been out of stock for long".
"I may note with a sense of deep anguish and pain that not even a single thing has moved in a positive direction since my last inspection. The equipments, surgical instruments and tools being used are the same which are totally rusted, old and made of cast iron," Saqib has said in his report which also contains pictures of the autopsy implements.
The court on September 16 had expressed its anguish and anger over the state of affairs in the city mortuaries and had directed the Delhi government to "act fast".

The direction had come while the court was dealing with a PIL initiated by it after a murder accused died in custody and one of his eyes was found missing when his body was kept in the mortuary.
Referring to the pictures placed before it of rusted knives and hammers being used for post-mortem, it had said that the bodies "cannot be butchered and hammered like this" and had directed the government to take immediate steps to rectify the situation.
Advocate Rahul Mehra, appearing for the city government, had assured the court that the upgradation or replacement of post-mortem instruments would be done within a week.