Plea seeks SOP for autopsies, Madras HC directs govt to respond

CHENNAI: The first bench of the Madras High Court sought replies from the Health and Family Welfare Secretary, the Director of Medical Education and Research, and the Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services after an advocate moved the court with a petition seeking a uniform Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for post-mortem examinations and forensic medical practices across Tamil Nadu.

The petitioner, advocate RM Arun Swaminathan, cited a series of reports published by DT Next on body-swapping, misidentification of the deceased, DNA mismatches, unattended viscera samples, and prolonged storage of unclaimed bodies in government mortuaries.

"This is how genuine PILs should come. Every day we are seeing useless PILs. Most are private interest litigations. This is for a public cause," observed the first bench comprising Chief Justice SA Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan, directing the officials to file their replies within four weeks.

The petitioner stated that, based on personal research, field enquiries, information from whistle-blowers, and several reported incidents, he found serious deficiencies in the State's medico-legal system. He alleged that wrong bodies had been handed over to families after post-mortem examinations due to misidentification, leading to the cremation or burial of other individuals' bodies. In some cases, post-mortem certificates and death records had been issued for persons who were later found to be alive or whose identities were disproved through DNA and other scientific examinations.

There were serious lapses in the preservation and timely examination of viscera samples, he alleged, adding that sealed samples were left unattended and unprocessed in several government hospitals. Noting that there were also concerns over the handling of unidentified and unclaimed bodies in government mortuaries, he said the absence of a uniform SOP has resulted in recurring lapses in forensic procedures.

Referring to DT Next reports, the petitioner cited incidents in Tiruvallur, Vellore and Tharangambadi, where bodies were misidentified, swapped or cremated before the actual person was found alive. He also referred to a DNA mismatch case in which a post-mortem certificate issued for a deceased man was later found to relate to an unidentified woman, and a report highlighting the prolonged retention of unclaimed bodies at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital mortuary. In some cases, the post-mortem certificates were withheld citing pending viscera reports.

The petitioner sought the court to issue directions to frame a State-wide SOP, prescribe strict timelines for the collection and analysis of forensic samples, ensure mandatory supply of post-mortem certificates to victims' families, conduct periodic death audit meetings in government hospitals, and make virtual autopsies mandatory in custodial death cases.