Supreme Court approves Parsi rites for disposal of COVID victims; iron grilles to be placed over tower of silence

The Supreme Court on Friday allowed the Parsi Community to perform Dokhmenashini i.e. disposal of the dead bodies according to the Parsi religious customs at the Dokhmas (Towers of Silence) for its members who have succumbed to COVID-19 [Surat Parsi Panchayat Board v. Union of India]..This was after the Central government and the Surat Parsi Panchayat (petitioner) held talks and devised a protocol for dealing with COVID victims.Among other things, the protocol and standard operating procedure agreed to immediately construct metallic net gates over the tower of silence, a circular structure used for disposing of the dead, to prevent birds like vultures from coming in contact with the bodies. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the Court today that the petitioner and the government have arrived at a consensus and devised a protocol to be followed."The Parsi Panchayat handles a tower of silences. They have agreed that over the tower of silence they will place a iron grid and net so that birds don't come feed on bodies and the bodies are primarily disposed of by strong rays of sun," Mehta submitted.Senior Advocate Fali Nariman, appearing for the petitioners, confirmed the same. "They have settled it with the Solicitor General as to how the dead will be placed in tower of silence," he said.The top court then recorded in its order that the dispute has been amicably settled and the proposal conforms to the faith and adheres to COVID concerns. It thus accepted the same and set aside an order of the Gujarat High Court which had dismissed the plea by the petitioner seeking directions for a protocol amidst COVID..The protocol approved by the Court mandates the following:1A) Dead bodies of the Parsi Zoroastrians who die of Covid 19 will be brought to the funeral parlour in the Tower of Silence complex and will only be handled by the Nassasalars- (professional Corpse bearers who have been professionally employed by the Panchayats). The corpse bearers are and will continue to be fully vaccinated and their temperatures duly recorded before every funeral and carrying out procedures of handling dead bodies as per existing COVID guidelines.1B) Neither relatives nor friends are permitted nor will be permitted to touch the dead body and it will be ensured that they will always remain beyond 10 feet from the dead body.2) The Nassasalars, at all times, while handling the dead body of the Parsi Zoroastrian COVID-19 victim will wear the PPE kit, gloves, face shield and N – 95 mask and the Govt of India regulations pertaining to dead bodies of COVID – 19 victims having been read and explained to them and they will be cautioned to follow the directives of the Govt. of India.3) The body of the COVID-19 Parsi victim will be brought by the Nassasalars to the Tower of Silence Complex from mortuary or home in a body bag which will not be opened, but as per existing Guidelines, the face of the deceased will be allowed to be seen from a distance of at least 10 feet by the family only by unzipping the face – covering of the body bag.4) The final funeral prayers i.e. the “GehSarna” (or Paidast) ceremony (which is the recitation of the first Gatha handed down by the Prophet Zarathushtra) over the dead body, is and will be by two Parsi Zoroastrian Priests wearing N-95 masks and gloves, who will stand at a distance of 10 feet from the dead body.The final prayers (which last about 1 hour) will be completed and upon its completion, the Nassasalars will carry the body to the Dokhma (Tower of Silence) where no one except the professionally employed corpse bearers can enter.As per Parsi religious traditions, no relative can touch, or much less kiss the body and every person at the funeral will perform hand hygiene after the funeral ceremony – a distance of at least 10 feet from the body will always be maintained. The individuals who will transport the dead body are the Parsi Nassasalars (the professional pallbearers) and no one else. Normally two Nassasalars will carry the body (in the body bag) to the Tower of Silence (Dokhma No.3) in a bier.5) Relatives attending the Gehsarna (Paidast) ceremony will wear face masks and follow other guidelines as prescribed by the Government of India and will sit 10 feet away from the dead body and only such number of family members will be permitted to attend the funeral as per the applicable guidelines.6) One Dokhma No. 3 has been set aside for Covid victims alone and used for performing religious ceremonies for dead bodies of Parsis COVID-19 victims. This Dokhma No. 3 will not be used for non-Covid-19 dead bodies.7) Only Dokhma No.3 (in the Tower of Silence) will be used for dead bodies of Parsi Covid victims. And non-Covid victims’ bodies will be placed in other Dokhmas i.e Dokhma No.1 and Dokhma No.2. Since the principal mode of disposal at the Tower of Silence is through strong and powerful rays of the Sun, and hence to deal with the problem of birds of prey, the Petitioner undertakes to install as soon as possible, a metallic bird net over Dokhma-No 3 – which is exclusively reserved for the dead Parsi COVID-19 victims; this will eliminate contact with birds and animals and will avoid any intrusion by vultures. Hence, there will be no exposure of the body to birds etc. once the metallic net gets installed over Dokhma-No 3.8) Religious rituals such as reading from religious scripts, sprinkling holy water and any other last rites that does not require touching of the body are allowed.9) After each ceremony, the entire funeral area/parlour will be washed, sprayed and disinfected. All PPE suits, masks and face shields will be disposed off and a new set will be used for each COVID-19 victim’s funeral ceremony.Fali Nariman was briefed by Karanjawala & Co.