HHRC panel asks Haryana to frame rules for transporting bodies from hospitals

Gurgaon: Haryana Human Rights Commission (HHRC) has recommended that the state health department frame a policy to ensure free and dignified transportation of bodies of patients from economically weaker families who die during treatment in civil hospitals, calling the absence of such support a serious failure of governance and compassion. The commission took suo motu cognisance of a TOI report, ‘Woman dies in hospital, family out on cash takes body home on cart', published on Jan 30, which documented how a family in Faridabad's Sarurpur was forced to transport the body of a woman who died during treatment in a govt hospital using a motorised pushcart.
Describing the episode as a grave affront to human dignity, the commission said it exposed deep systemic gaps in the public health and administrative framework. In an order issued on Friday, a panel headed by chairperson Justice Lalit Batra, with members Kuldip Jain and Deep Bhatia, underscored the ethical and constitutional dimensions of the case. "The family was compelled to transport the body from Badshah Khan Civil Hospital to their place of residence, situated merely about 7-10km away, without any logistical, institutional or financial assistance from the hospital or any state agency. The fact that such indignity occurred even within a short distance underscores not only the absence of any effective mechanism to ensure continuity of care and dignified handling of deceased persons, particularly indigent patients, but also reflects a disturbing apathy of both society and state instrumentalities towards a human being beyond death. This incident starkly demonstrates that the obligation of the state to uphold human dignity does not cease with death and that the failure to provide even basic post-death support amounts to a grave abdication of constitutional and moral responsibility," the commission said. The HHRC noted that similar incidents have been reported across the country, where poor families are forced to carry sick relatives or dead bodies on carts, motorcycles or rickshaws due to a lack of institutional support. Such recurring episodes, it said, pointed to a broader pattern of neglect rather than isolated lapses. The TOI report had highlighted how the family from Sarurpur village was forced to take the body of Anuradha, a 35-year-old woman who died during tuberculosis treatment at a Faridabad's Badshah Khan Civil Hospital on Jan 28, in a motorised pushcart as they could not afford Rs 700 for private transport and allegedly received no ambulance support from the hospital. The family had told TOI that they had exhausted their savings after seeking treatment for her at several govt facilities, including AIIMS and Safdarjung Hospital. Quoting directly from the newspaper report, the commission noted, "...the motorised open pushcart was driven by aged father-in-law of the deceased, and the husband and mother-in-law accompanying in mourning, the woman's seven-year-old son holding firmly onto the sheet covering his mother's body to prevent it from being blown away by the wind, striving to preserve whatever dignity he could for her final journey." Such circumstances, the commission observed, were "wholly incompatible with the standards of humane governance expected in a welfare state". While acknowledging that Haryana already provides free ambulance services for pregnant women, the commission was critical of the explanations offered by health officials in this case. Some authorities claimed there was no provision to transport bodies in health department ambulances, while others suggested the family had not requested such a service. The commission said these responses revealed a clear "policy gap" and a troubling lack of sensitivity. "The right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution includes dignity even after death. Forcing families to transport dead bodies in such conditions reflects failure of the State's constitutional and moral responsibilities," it said. The commission has issued notices to the additional chief secretary (health and family welfare), the director general of health services and the civil surgeon of Faridabad, directing them to submit detailed action taken reports at least one week before the next hearing, scheduled for April 2.