Mumbai Police Find Body of 80-Year-Old Man Kept Frozen for 4 Years at Malad Clinic
Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
Mumbai Police have found the body of an 80-year-old man that had been kept frozen at a medical clinic in Malad for four years after his death. Police discovered the case following a tip-off from an informant.
Police reportedly said the man’s family had asked the clinic to preserve his body because they were deeply disturbed by his death and hoped to eventually move it to a cryonics centre in the US. The family reportedly wanted the remains preserved for possible future medical advances that could enable revival.
Cryonics Remains Experimental
Cryopreservation of cells, tissues and embryos is an established scientific practice, but cryonics remains experimental. It involves preserving human remains at extremely low temperatures after death in the hope that future medical technology could enable revival.
What Indian Law Says
India currently has no specific law that expressly bans or permits cryonics. The practice, however, intersects with constitutional, criminal and healthcare frameworks. The Supreme Court has reportedly held that the right to life and dignity under Article 21 extends to the dead, requiring human remains to be treated with dignity and disposed of according to appropriate customs.
Indian courts have previously dealt with preservation of a body in a different context. In the case of spiritual leader Ashutosh Maharaj, who was declared clinically dead in 2014, the Punjab and Haryana High Court reportedly allowed his disciples to continue preserving his body in a commercial freezer. That case involved their religious beliefs and their claim that he was in a state of deep meditation, or “samadhi”.
Police Seek Legal Advice
The family and clinic management did not inform the police while the body remained at the facility. Police learnt about the matter through an informant and are now seeking legal advice on what action can be taken.
Authorities are also consulting experts on the legality of preserving a human body in such a manner and how long it can be kept. Preservation of biological material at sub-zero temperatures is used in forensic and medico-legal cases to protect DNA evidence, but that is different from preserving an entire human body for possible future revival.
The man’s aged wife and adult children live in Mumbai, while the identities of the deceased and his family have not been disclosed. Police are yet to take a decision on the man’s final rites.
