Protesting by keeping a dead body, politicizing the corpse, or failing to perform the last rites without reason will result in a jail term of one to five years and a fine in Rajasthan. The family of the deceased will have to accept the dead body. In case they hand over the body for protest, they will also face a one-year sentence.
These are the provisions of the 'Rajasthan Respect for Dead Bodies' Act, which was passed during the previous Ashok Gehlot government. The present Bhajan Lal government has notified the rules of the Act.
This law will cover everyone from family members to politicians, as the dead body has to be cremated within 24 hours. Failure to do so will allow the police to take possession of the body and perform the last rites.
The Act was passed on July 20, 2023. Following the Governor's assent on August 17, 2023, the Act became effective on August 18, 2023, but rules couldn't be formulated as it was the last phase of the Gehlot regime. The lack of rules was stooping the police to action.
Key provisions
If a family refuses to accept a dead body, they could face a one-year sentence. If a family member of the deceased uses the body for protest or allows someone else to do so, they could face a sentence of up to two years.
If a leader or non-family member protests with the body, they could face a sentence of up to five years. The family must perform the deceased's last rites as soon as possible. Funerals can only be delayed if family members are arriving from abroad or a postmortem is required.
Violating the confidentiality of unclaimed bodies will result in a 3-10 year sentence along with a fine. Such bodies will be kept in deep freezers. - Postmortems of unclaimed bodies will be videographed and photographed. Genetic data information will be obtained through DNA profiling. A data bank for unclaimed bodies will be created. — The state government will create a district-wise digital data bank for unclaimed bodies. Data related to unclaimed bodies will remain confidential. No officer or individual will disclose information related to the deceased unless legally required to do so.
