25 Jul, 2021, 3:54 am
The Gujarat High Court on Friday held that the protocol for disposal of bodies of those who succumbed to COVID-19 was not in violation of the fundamental right to religion of Parsees who practice
Dokhmenashini (
The Surat Parsi Panchayat Board v. Union Of India.)
The Court dismissed a petition filed by the Surat Parsi Panchayat Board seeking a declaration that the
Covid-19 Guidelines on Dead Body Management issued by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare are violative of Articles 14, 19, 21, 25, 26 and 29 of the Constitution for not allowing traditional Parsee last rites, called
Dokhmenashini.
As per the practice, the dead body is kept at a height in a structure known as a Tower of Silence, to be eaten by vultures and the remains are exposed to the Sun to be decomposed.