Hoping for resurrection, Mumbai man's body kept frozen for 4yrs
What's the story
The body of an 80-year-old man who died in 2022 was found preserved at a medical clinic in Malad, Mumbai, while his family explored the possibility of sending him to the US to be preserved indefinitely. The police discovered the body after receiving a tip-off from an informant. The man's family had instructed the clinic to keep his body on ice after his death, as they sought to transfer it to a cryonics center in the US for long-term preservation.
Tip-off
Family unable to come to terms with his death
The corpse was found only after residents tipped off the Kurar police on Monday night.
When cops arrived at the polyclinic, which had been shut for about a month for renovation, they discovered the old man's corpse inside a freezer.
According to documents produced by his family, the man died of natural causes in 2022, but his body had allegedly been preserved ever since because his children were unable to come to terms with his death.
Legal ambiguity
Cryonics experimental, no specific law in India bans it
The family informed authorities that after the father died, they looked into cryonics, which is an experimental practice in which dead persons are kept at extremely low temperatures in the hope that they will be revived or treated with future technology.
While cryopreservation of cells and tissues is a scientific practice, cryonics remains experimental.
However, there is no specific law in India that bans or permits this practice.
Legal consultation
Police seek legal advice on matter
The police are now seeking legal advice on the matter and consulting experts about the legality of such preservation.
"We have not registered any FIR yet and are studying the relevant laws," a Kurar police officer said.
In March, the Supreme Court held that Article 21's right to life and dignity extends to the dead while allowing the withdrawal of life support for 32-year-old Harish Rana, who had been in a permanent vegetative state for 13 years.
Legal complexities
Right to dignified disposal of body extends to the dead
Some legal experts argue that this right could extend to voluntary cryopreservation, but there is no formal recognition of such a right.
Indian jurisprudence treats temporary refrigeration differently from indefinite cryonic preservation.
In the case of Ashutosh Maharaj, who was declared clinically dead in 2014, the Punjab and Haryana High Court allowed his disciples to preserve his body in a commercial freezer due to their religious beliefs.