Protesting with dead body will now lead to 5 years of jail in this state

The Rajasthan government on Sunday officially implemented the controversial 'Respect for Deceased Bodies Act', a legislation that was passed during the tenure of the previous Congress regime. This new law marks a significant legal change, classifying actions such as protesting by holding onto a dead body, politicizing a corpse, and delaying a funeral beyond a specified period as criminal offenses.

The core mandate of the new rules is strict: the funeral rites of the deceased must be performed within 24 hours of the victim's death. Special permissions to bypass this 24-hour limit will only be granted under limited and specific circumstances. These exceptions include cases where immediate relatives of the deceased are traveling from outside the state, or when a post-mortem examination of the body needs to be conducted for legal or investigative purposes.

The law introduces severe penalties for non-compliance and politically motivated use of a body. Protesting by holding onto the deceased's body, blocking public roads, and attempting to exert pressure on authorities using the corpse will now result in a jail term ranging from one to five years, in addition to a substantial fine.

Furthermore, the new legislation addresses the scenario where family members themselves refuse to claim the deceased’s body due to external political or social pressure. Such actions, which contribute to the delay of the funeral, will also be subject to legal punishment under the new provisions.