J&K High Court’s decision: Take out the dead body of the civilian killed in the Haiderpura encounter and hand it over to the family, a fine of 5 lakhs on the government

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Friday ordered exhumation of a civilian’s body from the grave and handing it over to his family for last rites. The police had termed the man killed during the Haiderpura encounter in November last year as a terrorist.

Justice Sanjeev Kumar, in his 13-page order, said, “I allow the petition of the father of the deceased Amir Latif Magrey and direct the Government of Jammu and Kashmir to make arrangements for exhumation of the dead body in the presence of the petitioner.”

However, if the body is not in a position to be given, the petitioner and his close relatives are permitted to perform the last rites in the cemetery as per their traditions and religious belief, the court said.

government compensation
The order said that in such a situation, the petitioner, Mohammad Latif Magrey, was deprived of the right to see the dead body of his son and to perform his last rites in a dignified manner according to family traditions, religious obligations and beliefs, a compensation of five lakh rupees. Will give

Court also said
The right to cremate one’s dead body with rituals or to hand it over is part of the right to life (Article 21) given in the Constitution. You gave away two bodies of their loved ones from the grave to those who pressurized in Srinagar, but deprived the father living in a remote village from the last rituals of the son. This is contrary to the right to equality (Article 14) included in the Constitution.

“It is clear that the bodies of Altaf Ahmed Bhat and Dr. Mudassir Gul, who were killed in the Hyderpora encounter, were handed over because of pressure from the people and family members,” the court said. On the other hand, Aamir’s father and relatives, who hailed from a remote village in Ramban district, were kept deprived since they could not create such pressure in the valley.