Overview
- After a Faridabad family took 35-year-old Anuradha’s body home on a motorised pushcart when no ambulance or hearse was provided, the Haryana Human Rights Commission termed the episode a direct assault on human dignity.
- The Full Commission took suo motu cognisance, invoked Article 21, and called the incident evidence of a systemic failure in health and administrative support.
- Senior officials have been directed to file action-taken reports ahead of a hearing set for April 2, including the additional chief secretary for health and other top authorities named in the order.
- The panel recommended a formal policy to ensure free, dignified transport of bodies for economically weaker families, noting the state already funds ambulance services for pregnant women as a model.
- Within hours of the order’s release, the state health department told all districts to ensure at least one functional hearse van with contact details publicly displayed, while the civil surgeon ordered an inquiry that could lead to staff action if negligence is found.