Wife seeks mortal remains of Hindu man buried in Saudi
A peculiar case came up before the Delhi HC on Tuesday wherein the mortal remains of a Hindu man, an Indian citizen, were wrongly buried in Saudi Arabia as per Muslim rites due to incorrect translation of his religion on the death certificate by Indian Consulate officials in Jeddah. The deceased's wife has been running from pillar to post to get the mortal remains.
Urgently exhume the remains and repatriate them to India: Petitioner
Petitioner Anju Sharma has approached the Delhi High Court seeking direction to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to take steps to urgently exhume the remains and repatriate them to India in a time-bound manner.
Judge called on concerned MEA officer to update the court
Justice Prathiba M Singh said the woman has been approaching the authorities since January after the passing away of her husband and steps should have been taken. Accordingly, the concerned officer from the MEA not below the rank of deputy secretary shall join the proceedings on March 18 to inform about the status update on transportation of mortal remains of the deceased, the judge added.
The body was buried despite request to repatriate the remains
Sanjeev Kumar passed away on January 24 in Saudi Arabia, where he was working, due to a cardiac arrest and his mortal remains were kept at a hospital. On getting the news of his death, the family requested the authorities to repatriate the mortal remains. Shockingly, on February 18, the petitioner was informed that her husband's body has been buried in Saudi Arabia.
Indian Consulate in Jeddah apologized to the woman
The officials in the Indian Consulate have shared a letter of apology tendered by the official translating agency of the Indian Consulate in Jeddah with the petitioner herein, said the petition, filed through advocate Subhash Chandran KR and Yogamaya MG. It also said that neither the woman nor any of the family members gave consent to bury Kumar's body in Saudi Arabia.
Petitioner has demanded departmental action against concerned officials
Unfortunately, even after seven weeks of the death of the husband of the petitioner, the authorities have failed to do necessary formalities to repatriate his mortal remains to India. The plea sought directions to the Centre to take departmental action against concerned officials of the Indian Consulate at Jeddah for their negligence and direct the authorities to obtain the deceased's corrected death certificate.
