Covid Exhumation Bid Fails: SC Upholds Madras HC Ruling, Cites Pandemic Precedent

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The Supreme Court has upheld a Madras High Court decision that blocked an attempt to exhume the body of a man who died of Covid-19 in 2020 for reburial at his family's native place. The deceased's wife had filed a plea challenging the high court's verdict, but the apex court refused to intervene, citing the unprecedented circumstances of the pandemic. The court noted that the woman had waited four years before approaching the high court and that allowing such a prayer would create a floodgate of similar cases. The Madras High Court had previously set aside an order permitting exhumation, citing concerns about the dignity of the deceased and the potential for a precedent that could lead to the exhumation of bodies of those who died during the pandemic. The court ruled that the man was given a decent burial, with all necessary rituals and prayers performed, and that his grave had been constructed. The Supreme Court's decision upholds the high court's ruling, preventing the exhumation of the body and upholding the rights of the deceased and their families.