There is a delay in the implementation of the Dead Body Respect Bill (2023) in Haryana. The government aims to prevent the blocking of roads by placing dead bodies and is preparing to introduce a bill to enforce this ban. Preparations are being made to bring this bill to ban it. Although Home Minister Anil Vij has objected to this bill, after this the Home Department has started a study on it.
Vij says that it is necessary to gather practical information before bringing such a bill. He said that first of all, it is necessary to study the state in which this law is applicable. Currently, in this bill, there is a provision for imprisonment of up to one year and a fine of 50,000 rupees to those who protest with the dead body.
In the bill, the proposal to give the government the right to cremate such dead bodies by the local authorities has been passed in the current draft bill.
The home department submitted the bill to Home Minister Anil Vij 10 days ago for approval, but he has advised officials to do more homework on it before the winter session of the Haryana assembly. Vij says the home department has been directed to conduct a study to find out the effectiveness of such bills and laws passed by other states.
In July, the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government passed the Rajasthan Respect for Dead Bodies Bill, 2023, which provides for a fine of up to five years in prison for protesting with corpses. This makes the family responsible for the cremation as soon as possible. If the family refuses to cremate the body, public authorities can perform the cremation.
In a proposed bill in Haryana, officials may have the authority to take the bodies of protesting family members into custody. However, prior to the approval of this bill, Anil Vij has raised objections on two points. Vij states that certain aspects of the bill are not entirely clear, and he has requested clarification from the Home Department on those matters. It is also crucial to understand the potential impact such actions could have on the protesters.Municipal authorities are already tasked with cremating the unidentified bodies. We have to ensure that there is no conflict between the provisions of those rules and the provisions of the Bill. Furthermore, authorities have been requested to analyse the repercussions of government actions concerning the acquisition of bodies in states where comparable laws have previously been implemented. If we don’t study this effect, tomorrow we may face a reaction from the protesters that no government would like to see.
