Supreme Court takes suo motu cognisance of handling of dead bodies of COVID-19 patients

In a big development, the Supreme Court has taken suo motu cognisance of the concern surrounding the treatment of COVID-19 patients in hospitals across the country along with the serious concern of the disposal of the bodies of the deceased patients.

Late in the evening on Thursday, the Supreme Court decided to take suo motu cognisance of the issues and the matter has been placed for hearing before a bench of Justice Ashok Bhushan, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice MR Shah on Friday.

This is the second issue surrounding the pandemic on which the Supreme Court has decided to act on their own. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court had taken suo motu cognisance of the migrant crisis that had hit the country with crores of migrant labourers travelling back to their home States in wake of the nationwide lockdown that was in place for over three months.

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Reports of lack of beds, high cost treatment

Several reports have emerged which have raised serious concerns regarding the lack of beds and high cost of treatment in private hospitals across the country for COVID positive patients. Many instances also highlight the rising concern of the dignified disposal of dead bodies at the hospital as well as during the last rites. Supreme Court’s intervention into the matter can come as a huge relief to the citizens struggling to access hospitals during this time.

The matter will be taken up for hearing tomorrow, during which the Centre along with State governments are likely to appear to clear their stand on what is being done for the proper treatment of COVID-19 patients and dignified handling of dead bodies in hospitals.

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