Any decision on repatriation of the mortal remains of a person ought to be made primarily on the basis of citizenship and rules, the Kerala High Court has held.
The court was hearing a plea by a maternal uncle of a person who died in the U.K., seeking a direction to repatriate his nephew’s mortal remains to India. The person had over time acquired U.K. citizenship. After his death, the Indian embassy in the U.K. sought an Indian passport or an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card, to bring his body to India.
The petitioner submitted that these were not available, especially since his nephew’s Indian passport had been surrendered on his acquiring U.K. citizenship. The Centre submitted before the High Court that it was mandatory to produce an OCI or Person of Indian Origin card.
The court observed that there was no document to show that the deceased intended that his mortal remains be brought to India. Neither had he applied for an OCI card. Dismissing the plea, the court held that the petitioner was not the legal heir of the deceased and hence had no right to maintain the plea. Moreover, the deceased person’s mother and daughter were alive, it added.
