Refusing post-mortems.

WHEN a suspicious death occurs, acceding to the wishes of grieving family members in disallowing the post-mortem of their loves one may appear humane but it does not serve the ends of justice. After well-known televangelist Aamir Liaquat died on Thursday, his family refused to allow an autopsy. Police officials, to their credit, did not acquiesce, and instead, went to the court in an effort to take custody of the body which had been kept in the mortuary. However, the judicial magistrate ordered that the mortal remains be handed over to the family and Aamir Liaquat was buried on Friday, with no one the wiser as to why the 50-year-old who apparently had no serious health problems had breathed his last.

There have been many instances when the legal requirement for autopsies is treated as a matter of choice for the family of the deceased. Under Section 174 of the CrPc, when 'there is any doubt regarding the cause of death,' as well as in certain other circumstances, the police officer 'shall' send the body for a post-mortem. However, the relevant courts...