The Delhi High Court today expressed anguish over authorities in the national capital not giving dignified treatment to the dead saying this was "pathetic".
"We don't give dignity to those who are alive. Don't give dignity to the dead. No dignity period. Pathetic," a bench of justices Badar Durrez Ahmed and Sanjeev Sachdeva said while dealing with a PIL initiated by the court after a murder accused died while in custody and an eye went missing while the body was kept in the mortuary.
The court made the observation after perusing a report which said most mortuaries in the hospitals run by Delhi government and municipal corporations were not even maintaining the basic standards.
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"We have money for everything, but not for maintaining dignity of the dead," the court said.
Displeased over the "pathetic state" of mortuaries and treatment of bodies, Justice Ahmed asked "Would you like it if the body of your family member was eaten by rodents? I know I won't".
The court also asked the authorities why they can't maintain proper standards if private hospitals, like Max Balaji, can do it.
Amicus curiae Saqib, in his report, told the court that the hygiene and cooling chambers in the mortuary at Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, a super specialty which is affiliated with University College of Medical Sciences of Delhi University, was "extremely pathetic".
Saqib had also visited Rajan Babu TB hospital as well as Swami Dayanand Hospital to inspect the mortuaries there.
While at Rajan Babu the mortuary was locked and found to be maintained by a semi-literate employee of Sulabh which has been contracted for the job, the one at Swami Dayanand was found lacking cleanliness and easily accessible by stray animals, his report said.
The court has given the corporations and the Delhi government to "put their house in order" and asked the amicus to again inspect the hospitals and submit his status report before September 16.
