Lucknow: In a significant step to improve medical accountability and support grieving families, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brijesh Pathak has directed implementation of new guidelines to ensure that all postmortem procedures are completed within four hours. The Health Department, under the supervision of Principal Secretary Partha Sarathi Sen Sharma, has issued a formal notification to all districts.
The directive applies across all mortuaries in the state. For districts witnessing a high volume of postmortem cases, Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) have been instructed to form multiple medical teams to expedite the process. "No family should be left waiting indefinitely for their loved one's remains," said Pathak while stressing the importance of sensitivity in handling such cases. K
ey provisions of the guideline include the continuation of postmortem procedures after sunset only under artificial lighting of at least 1000-watt capacity. However, night-time autopsies in cases of murder, suicide, sexual assault, mutilated bodies, or deaths under suspicious circumstances will generally not be permitted unless approved by the District Magistrate.
To prevent financial exploitation, families will not be charged for videography in legally sensitive cases, such as custodial deaths, police encounters, or deaths of women within 10 years of marriage. The cost will be covered through the Rogi Kalyan Samiti or other departmental funds.
Further reforms include, online release of postmortem reports along with deployment of one computer operator and two data entry operators at each facility. Inclusion of women doctors in postmortem panels involving female victims is also mandated.
The Deputy CM emphasized that these measures aim to enhance transparency, reduce delays, and uphold dignity in handling postmortem procedures.
