1987 PLP 272 (SCMR)

Modi on Medical Jurisprudence ref. Khalid Farooq Qureshi, Advocate Supreme Court instructed by Ejaz Ahmad Khan, Advocate‑on‑Record for Petitioners. Nemo for Respondents. Date of hearing: 23rd December, 1986. JAVID IQBAL, J.‑‑This petition for leave to appeal is directed against the order of the learned Single Judge of the Lahore High Court Lahore, dated 3rd December, 1986. Facts are that Mst. Lalo Bibi had died in suspicious circumstances. Therefore, her brother moved an application to the authorities for exhumation of her dead body. The District Magistrate sent that application to the Police who after an inquest reported that the death of Mst. Lalo Bibi was natural. Dissatisfied with the findings of the Police another application was moved for disinterment of the dead body. This time the District Magistrate forwarded the application for necessary action to the Assistant Commissioner who held an inquiry and examined some witnesses. He arrived at the conclusion that the circumstances of the death of Mst. Lalo Bibi were suspicious and that, therefore, he recommended the exhumation of the dead body. The inquiry report of the Assistant Commissioner was placed before the District Magistrate who disagreeing with the finding of the Assistant Commissioner disallowed the prayer for exhumation Aggrieved by the said order a revision petition was filed before the Additional Sessions Judge who remanded the case to the District Magistrate to reconsider the finding of the Assistant Commissioner. The District Magistrate then held an inquiry and after examining witnesses from both the sides arrived at the conclusion that the death of Mst. Lalo Bibi was natural. Consequently another revision petition was moved before the Sessions Court which was dismissed. Thereafter, the matter was taken to the High Court and the learned Single Judge of the Lahore High Court Lahore set aside the order of the Sessions Court and directed the District Magistrate Bhakkar to exhumate the dead body of Mst. Lalo Bibi in the presence of a board of doctors to be constituted at the District Headquarters Hospital to ascertain the cause of death of Mst. Lalo Bibi. Before us learned counsel for the petitioner argued that when on numerous occasions inquest/inquiries had been held in this case arriving at the conclusion that the cause of death of Mst. Lalo Bibi was natural, her dead body should not be exhumed. It was submitted that furtherance one year had passed and, therefore, no useful purpose would be served in the disinterment. We have heard the learned counsel. At the initial stage the husband of Mst. Lalo Bibi, i.e. the present petitioner had himself stated while being examined that he had no objection if the dead body of Mst. Lalo Bibi was exhumed Besides that learned Single Judge while relying on a passage from the book of Modi on Medical Jurisprudence: had held that disinterment could take place even after one year to, ascertain the cause of death. We have gone through the impugned judgment and in the light of what has been discussed above no interference are called for. The petition is, therefore, dismissed. M. I. Petition dismissed.