GRH dean directed to perform postmortem on accident victim

TNN | Mar 6, 2020, 04.30 AM IST

Madurai: Madras high court has directed doctors of the Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) to perform postmortem on a person who succumbed to injuries in a road accident and hand over the body to his family members. The court said this after taking cognizance of the fact that the body was not handed over to the family as police officials did not give requisition for performing postmortem.

Justice G R Swaminathan passed the order while hearing a plea moved by the victim’s son, S Abilash, seeking for a direction to the Madurai city police officials to give requisition to the dean of GRH for performing postmortem and hand over his father’s body.

The judge observed that the petitioner’s father, Selvaraj, who was doing business at Bengaluru met with an accident on February 23 when he was riding his two-wheeler. He was admitted in the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (Nimhans) and thereafter shifted to a private hospital.

He was discharged from the private hospital and admitted to the GRH on February 29. Selvaraj, who was in a comatose condition passed away on March 4 at 5pm and his body is kept in the mortuary.

The judge observed that the postmortem was not performed as the inspector of police of Madhichiyam police refused to give requisition stating that the accident did not take place within their jurisdiction. When the petitioner approached the jurisdictional police station at Karnataka, the inspector of police stated that the petitioner’s family did not lodge any complaint immediately after the accident took place and the death did not take place with their jurisdiction.

“The body of the petitioner’s father is still in mortuary. The petitioner and other members of his family are anxious to perform the final rites. I can understand the agony and pain of the petitioner’s family. This is not a matter in which one can adopt a technical approach as it appears to be a case of natural death,” observed the judge.

Taking cognizance of the submission by the petitioner’s counsel stating that no claim would be made against the police in Madurai in the future and the stand of the police, the judge directed the dean to make arrangements to conduct postmortem and hand over the body to the petitioner’s family on Thursday itself.