Does a person have any rights after their death? The answer is yes and were going to learn more on the same subject.

‘Necrophilia is derived from a ‘nekro’ (dead body) and ‘philia’ (attracted to / love) and is defined as a paraphilia whereby the perpetrator gets sexual pleasure while having sex with the dead. A necrophiliac is a person who voluntarily indulges in such acts which are generally motivated by sexual desires. 

But is necrophilia recognized in India? No

One of the most prominent cases of necrophilia in India is the Nithari case (2006) in which the accused and his servant were taken into custody after it was discovered that 19 girls were missing after visiting the house of the accused. During the investigation, several pornographic CDs and naked pictures of different women and children were discovered from his house and several cases of murder, rape, abduction, sexual assault against children, and cannibalism were filed against the accused and his servant. The servant confessed the crimes and stated that the accused killed 16 people (9 female children, 2 male children, and 5 adult women). He used to kill the victims in his living room then dragged the bodies upstairs in a bathroom and attempts to rape them and then chopped them into small pieces to cook them and threw the rest into the drainage behind his bungalow. 

In 2020, two men were arrested for strangling a man and then having sex with the body in Delhi.[1]

Laws regarding the subject in India:

There are no specific laws relating to necrophilia but that does not mean the rights of a dead body are denied. Article 21 of the Indian constitution not only recognizes a right to life with dignity and respect but also include the right to die in a dignified manner and the Supreme  Court in the case of Parmanand Katara vs. Union of India further recognized that Article 21 provides the right to life, fair treatment, and dignity, and these rights extend not only to the person alive but also to their dead bodies.

In the case of Ashray Adhikar Abhiyan vs. Union Of India, the Supreme Court held that the dignity of the dead must be respected and a deceased homeless person has a right of decent cremation according to his/her religious customs. In the case of Ramji Singh and Mujeeb Bhai vs. State of U.P. & Ors., Allahabad High Court said that the right under Article 21 also includes a right to treat the dead body a person with the same respect as the person would have deserved while being alive and to protect the dignity of dead person the court also said that post-mortem should also be avoided until very necessary.   

 Section 297 of the Indian Penal Code very vaguely covers the act of necrophilia by stating that any person who, “commits any trespass in any place of worship or on any place of sepulchre, or any place set apart from the performance of funeral rites or as a depository for the remains of the dead, or offers any indignity to any human corpse, or causes disturbance to any persons assembled for the performance of funeral ceremonies”.

[1] Press Trust of India, 2 Arrested For Strangling Man, Having Sex With Body In Delhi: Police, NDTV.com (March 12, 2020 10:59 pm IST), https://www.ndtv.com/delhi-news/delhi-neb-sarai-2-arrested-for-strangling-man-having-sex-with-body-in-south-delhi-cops-2194019

Aishwarya Says:

I have always been against Glorifying Over Work and therefore, in the year 2021, I have decided to launch this campaign “Balancing Life”and talk about this wrong practice, that we have been following since last few years. I will be talking to and interviewing around 1 lakh people in the coming 2021 and publish their interview regarding their opinion on glamourising Over Work.

If you are interested in participating in the same, do let me know.

Do follow me on Facebook, Twitter  Youtube and Instagram.

The copyright of this Article belongs exclusively to Ms. Aishwarya Sandeep. Reproduction of the same, without permission will amount to Copyright Infringement. Appropriate Legal Action under the Indian Laws will be taken.

If you would also like to contribute to my website, then do share your articles or poems at adv.aishwaryasandeep@gmail.com

We also have a Facebook Group Restarter Moms for Mothers or Women who would like to rejoin their careers post a career break or women who are enterpreneurs.

We are also running a series Inspirational Women from January 2021 to March 31,2021, featuring around 1000 stories about Indian Women, who changed the world. #choosetochallenge