Supreme Court rules no right to bring back foreigner's mortal remains to India

The Supreme Court delivered a significant ruling on Friday, asserting that no citizen possesses the right to bring back the mortal remains of a foreigner to India. This decision came as the court rejected a plea from a Sufi Dargah in Prayagraj which sought to repatriate the mortal remains of its spiritual leader, Hazrat Shah who had become a Pakistani citizen and passed away in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Advocate Arundhati Katju, representing the petitioner argued before a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, emphasizing that Hazrat Shah had relatives in Prayagraj who were eager to fulfill his last wishes by burying him in the Dargah precincts. Katju further highlighted the poor condition of the tomb in Dhaka where Hazrat Shah was buried.

However, the bench remained resolute, stating that no Indian citizen possesses the right to repatriate the mortal remains of a foreign citizen to India. The court emphasized, "There are difficulties which lie in the path of entertaining a petition under Article 32." The bench underlined that Hazrat Shah was a Pakistani citizen, and there is no constitutional right for the petitioners to claim the transfer of his mortal remains from Dhaka to India.

The court elaborated, "Apart from the practical difficulties such as exhumations, as a matter of first principle, it would not be appropriate or lawful for the court to direct the body of a person who is admittedly a citizen of a foreign state, to be brought to India for last rites." Consequently, the petition was dismissed.

Hazrat Shah, although born in Prayagraj, migrated to Pakistan and acquired Pakistani citizenship in 1992. Despite his citizenship status, his followers in India appointed him as the spiritual leader of the Dargah in 2008. The petitioner claimed that Hazrat Shah had expressed his desire through a will to be buried at the shrine beside his forefathers' graves. However, he passed away in Dhaka during a visit to Bangladesh in January 2022.

Following the dismissal of the petition, Katju noted that Hazrat Shah's younger sister had made numerous representations to authorities seeking the transportation of his mortal remains but received no response. However, the bench declined to issue a direction to the authorities in this regard.