Personal rights, customs, tradition have to surrender to national interest in unprecedented times like COVID pandemic: Jammu & Kashmir High Court

Larger national interest will prevail over personal rights, traditions and customs during unprecedented times like COVID-19 pandemic, the Jammu & Kashmir High Court recently observed while directing strict adherence to government guidelines while handling and cremating dead bodies of those who have succumbed to Coronavirus (Court on its own motion V/s Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and others).A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Vinod Chatterji Koul, while refusing to pass directions to hand-over dead bodies of Covid-19 victims to their next of kin, said that "the larger public interest always prevails over personal rights and the traditions and customs have to yield to the national interest especially in these unprecedented times"..The Court, however, expressed hope that authorities will not cause any harassment to the next of kin of any person dying due to Covid-19 in viewing the face of the deceased and in allowing them to perform the last rites in the manner laid down as per the guidelines. .The Court was hearing a suo-motu public interest litigation (PIL) case related to Covid-19 in which several miscellaneous applications were filed one of which was to hand over the dead body of a COVID victim to the next of kin of the deceased.The plea filed by Balvinder Singh through advocate Dinesh Singh Chauhan, sought direction that since no post-mortem or autopsy is necessary on account of death due to Covid-19, the body should be handed over to the next of kin.The application also prayed that the face of the deceased be allowed to be seen by the relatives and they be permitted to perform rituals such as sprinkling of holy water etc before cremation. ."The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has framed the guidelines in consultation with the experts dealing with Covid-19 pandemic and, as such, if the guidelines do not permit handing over of the dead body specifically to the next of the kins and simply allow them to participate in the cremation/burial and to perform the last rites that is more than sufficient otherwise it would be difficult to contain the spread of the disease," the Court said..The Division Bench also refused a prayer for conversion of a government stadium into vaccination centers on a PIL filed by Snehal Arora through advocate Aditya Gupta. "We do not think that such prayer requires to be considered by the Court as it is for the administration to consider, if they are short of place for vaccination centers," the Court said. .However, the Bench also hoped that the government would prepare itself in advance to face the third wave, if any, and for that purpose care should be taken to vaccinate each and every citizen at the earliest, by carrying out fresh drive institution-wise so that if anyone has remained unvaccinated, he/ she is also covered..The Court also added that the government may ensure establishment of oxygen generation plants in every government and other hospitals or at any other place it considers appropriate, adding that the temporary arrangements so far made may not be completely dismantled and may be kept in readiness for future..The matter will be heard next on July 6.