National Desk, 6th April: In a landmark verdict delivered on Friday, the Supreme Court of India asserted that Indian citizens do not possess the right to bring back the mortal remains of foreign nationals to India. The ruling came as the court dismissed a plea from a Sufi Dargah in Prayagraj, which sought to repatriate the mortal remains of its spiritual leader, Hazrat Shah, who had become a Pakistani citizen and passed away in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Representing the petitioner, Advocate Arundhati Katju argued before a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, highlighting that Hazrat Shah had relatives in Prayagraj eager to fulfill his last wishes by burying him in the Dargah precincts. Katju also emphasized the poor condition of the tomb in Dhaka where Hazrat Shah was buried.
However, the bench remained steadfast in its decision, asserting that Indian citizens have no right to repatriate the mortal remains of foreign citizens to India. The court stated, “There are difficulties which lie in the path of entertaining a petition under Article 32.” It emphasized that Hazrat Shah was a Pakistani citizen, and there is no constitutional right for the petitioners to claim the transfer of his mortal remains from Dhaka to India.
The court further elaborated, “Apart from the practical difficulties such as exhumations, as a matter of first principle, it would not be appropriate or lawful for the court to direct the body of a person who is admittedly a citizen of a foreign state, to be brought to India for last rites.” Consequently, the petition was dismissed.
Hazrat Shah, born in Prayagraj, migrated to Pakistan and acquired Pakistani citizenship in 1992. Despite his citizenship status, his followers in India appointed him as the spiritual leader of the Dargah in 2008. The petitioner claimed that Hazrat Shah had expressed his desire through a will to be buried at the shrine beside his forefathers’ graves. However, he passed away in Dhaka during a visit to Bangladesh in January 2022.
Following the dismissal of the petition, Katju noted that Hazrat Shah’s younger sister had made numerous representations to authorities seeking the transportation of his mortal remains but received no response. However, the bench declined to issue a direction to the authorities in this regard.
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