The Rajasthan Legislative Assembly on Thursday passed a Bill by voice vote to provide honour to the dead body and uphold its basic human rights and to check ‘politics on dead body’ especially on streets with provisions of jail term from six months to two years and a heavy fine on offenders.

After two hours and 30 minutes of debate, cutting across the party lines the House adopted the legislation titled “The Rajasthan Honour of Dead Body Bill-2023”, probably first of its kind among the states.

Defending the Bill while replying to each of 15 debaters, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shanti Dhariwal told the House, “The Supreme Court of India in Writ Petition (Civil) 143/2001 Ashray Adhikar Abhiyan V/s Union of India issued directions for decent burial or cremation of the unclaimed dead bodies. Human dignity with which living human beings are expected to be treated, should also be extended to a person, who is dead and the right to accord decent burial or cremation to the dead body of a person, should be taken to be a part of the right to such dignity”.

He further said, “Since the incidents of remonstration for unjustified demands are increasing in Rajasthan and in this matter there are no adequate provisions in the existing law, likewise, to keep a record of unclaimed bodies, protection of genetic data information through DNA profiling and digitization and confidentiality of information are need of the hour.”

The proposed law, apart from providing dignity to the dead, will also serve as a deterrent on the rising trend of remonstrations and also work towards protection of data relating to unclaimed bodies, he added.

Dhariwal told the House that from 2014-18 there were 82 incidents of ‘demonstration and dharna’ after holding the dead body on streets or outside the police stations, and this figure rose to 306 during 2019-23, though 91 cases were registered in the police stations. There are about 3016 unclaimed bodies so far.

“It has become a habit of people associated with politics and other organisations, hence it was necessary to do justice and honour to the dead body,” Dhariwal contended.

According to the Offences and Punishment laid down in the new bill, Any family member, who does not take possession of the dead body as per the provisions of section 5, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term, which may extend to one year or with fine or with both.

Any family member, who uses the dead body for remonstration or gives consent to any other person for using the body for remonstration, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term, which may extend to two years and with fine.

For any person, other than family members, who uses the dead body for remonstration, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term, which shall not be less than six months, but which may extend to five years and with fine.

If any authorized person or persons, discloses any kind of Genetic Data Information and Confidentiality of Information, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term, which shall not be less than three years, but which may extend to ten years and with fine.

Whoever attempts or conspires to commit an offence under this Act shall be punished in the same manner as if he had himself committed that offence. The new bill will provide protection to the religions, traditions and sentiments of all communities and tribal people and there would be a nodal officer to solve the immediate problems of the kin of the deceased.