Hyderpora encounter: Apex Court dismisses father’s plea for delivering son’s body

The Supreme Court Monday rejected a prayer by the daddy of a person killed within the encounter in Jammu and Kashmir’s Hyderpora last year seeking directions to permit the exhumation of his son’s body and handing it over to the family for performing last rites.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and J B Pardiwala said there's “nothing” on record “to indicate that deceased” Amir Magray “was not given a good burial”. The bench said that while it respects the emotions and sentiments of the appellants, the court of law mustn't decide the matter on the premise of sentiments but on the premise of rule of law.

The bench said the relief granted by the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh state supreme court is simply and proper and asked appellant Mohammad Latief Magray to suits it. The court said after a body has been buried, it's considered to be within the custody of the law. It also said that when buried a body shouldn't be disturbed, adding the court won't ordinarily allow the identical unless it's shown that it had been necessary for the interests of justice.

The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh judicature had earlier allowed the family to perform the last rites where the deceased was buried but the family insisted that the body be handed over thereto to perform the rites. The HC had also directed payment of Rs 5 lakh to the family to make amends for the deprivation of their rights.

The Jammu and Kashmir administration opposed it asserting that the deceased was a terrorist and exhuming the body now will result in law and order problems.

The single judge of the judicature had on May 27 asked the Jammu and Kashmir administration to require out the remains within the presence of Latief Magrey. The court, however, added that if the body is “highly putrefied and isn't in deliverable state or is probably going to pose risk to public health and hygiene, the petitioner and his close relatives shall be allowed to perform last rites as per their tradition and spiritual beliefs in the… graveyard itself”.

Four people were killed within the Hyderpora encounter on the outskirts of Srinagar on November 15, 2021.