On Friday, 24th June, The Supreme Court agreed to hear a plea filed by a father who sought a direction to dig up the body of his son. He claims that his son was falsely accused of being a ‘terrorist’. This led to him being killed in an encounter in November 2021. He demanded permission to exhume the body so proper last rites could be done by the family.
Previous Judgements on this Plea
A Jammu and Kashmir single judge bench had allowed the exhuming of the body on May 27th. The body was to be dug from the Wadder Paheen Graveyards. The court added that if the body was ‘highly putrefied’ and was not in a deliverable state, posing public health and hygiene risks then the petitioner and his close relatives would have to perform the last rights according to their beliefs in the graveyard itself.
In case of such an unfortunate mishap, the state would pay Mohammad Latief Magrey a compensation of 5 lakh Rupees. The compensation would be in lieu of deprivation of his rights to receive the body of his son and provide him with a proper funeral per their faith.
However, the order was stayed later by a division bench on June 3rd. Monday, June 27th would be the day that the Supreme Court would hear the petition.
Words from the Senior Lawyer, Anand Grover Representing the Case
Senior Lawyer, Anand Grover is currently representing the plea filer, Mohammad Latief Magrey.
Speaking on behalf of Magrey, Anand said that Magrey has remained an ardent supporter of the Army. However, the only purpose of exhuming the body was to perform the proper rites of his son Aamir Magrey.
Advocate Anand Grover sought urgent listing of the plea. He gave the reason that with every day that passed it would become more difficult to exhume the body. He supported his statements with the fact that he has many judgements of the Supreme Court in his favour.
What happened to Aamir Magrey? Details about Supreme Court Plea
Aamir Magrey was killed along with three others who were termed ‘terrorists’ in the encounter by the police. It occurred on the outskirts of Srinagar on 15th November 2021. Although the families of the victims claimed their innocence, the police declared them terrorists. Their bodies were buried in Kupawara located in Northern Kashmir.
Two more civilians were killed in the Hyderpora encounter namely, Altaf Ahmad Bhat and Dr Mudasir Gul. Their bodies were also dug out and returned to their families after a public outcry.
