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Children's bodies cannot be rejected by crematoria: high court

The Delhi high court today ordered the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to instruct crematoria not to turn away the bodies of children or still-born children in case they are brought for cremation or force the parents to dump them in river Yamuna.

A division bench comprising Justices Anil Dev Singh and Mukul Mudgal passed the direction after counsel for MCD Raman Duggal submitted, ''There is no provision that stated that the bodies have to be buried or dumped in the river. However, due to religious beliefs, making cremation of the bodies of children a law was not possible.

''But the bodies of children, if brought by their parents for cremation, would not be turned away and the parents would not be forced to dump them in the river,'' Duggal submitted.

Directing the MCD to comply with the order immediately, the court asked the civic body to put up notice boards stating this at all the crematoria in the capital. The matter was fixed for further hearing on January 15.

''If some parents decide to cremate their children, the persons at the crematoria cannot say that the child has to be thrown in the river. It is not for the person manning the crematorium to decide,'' the judges observed.

UNI

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