There may not have been any problem in burying the body of a neurosurgeon, who had died after testing positive for COVID-19, at the Kilpauk cemetery here on February 19 if the officials concerned had handled the situation properly, the Madras High Court has said.
Justice M. Nirmal Kumar said: “It is seen that the petitioners and the local residents had been scared by the rumours about the spread of deadly virus and that is the reason they had expressed their reservation during the burial of the doctor’s body.
“If the authorities had informed in advance about the procedure of burial and the precautionary measures followed by them, the local residents’ apprehension about the spread of virus would have been dispelled and such protest would not have occurred.”
He made the observation while granting bail to as many as 12 people who had been booked by T.P. Chathiram police for indulging in violence and preventing the burial. The judge also took note that the burial had been planned during odd hours.
Taking into consideration, the nature of the offences and also the fact that the petitioners were in judicial custody since April 22, the judge granted them bail on usual conditions.
