Calcutta HC Orders Postmortem of 18 Years Old Covid-19 Suspect who Died Due to Medical Negligence

The Calcutta High Court directed the state Government to conduct an autopsy on the body of an 18-years old boy, suspected to have suffered from Covid-19 and allegedly denied appropriate medical treatment. The Court has further ordered the Government to video record the post-mortem as well as performance of last rites and final cremation of the dead body. The direction has come in a writ petition moved by the boy’s parents, alleging that their son was denied medical treatment at two clinical establishments. Subsequently he was admitted at the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital, where he died the same night. The single bench of Justice Debangsu Basak has denied the request for presence of parents during the autopsy or at the crematorium designated for disposal of Covid-19 patients but has ordered the Government to video record the entire process and allow the Petitioners to perform their son’s last rites, as per the ICMR Guidelines.