New Delhi, Nov 16 (IANS) The Supreme Court Monday sought the central government’s stand on a lawsuit seeking compulsory DNA profiling of thousands of unidentified dead persons recovered annually across India.
A bench of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, Justice P. Sathasivam and Justice B.S. Chauhan sought the government’s stand on the lawsuit, which contended that the DNA profiling would help police establish the identity of the deceased, besides helping it in probing if there was any foul play in the death.

The lawsuit has been filed by Dr Shamsher Mullick of Maharaja Agrasen Medical College at Hisar in Haryana.

In his lawsuit seeking compulsory DNA profiling of bodies, Mullick told the court that as per National Crime Records Bureau data, 102 unidentified bodies are recovered all over India every day with the annual figure of unidentified corpses hovering in the range of 35,000 to 37,000.

A forensic science expert, Mullick told the court that DNA profiling is the only way to identify the body long after it is cremated, by matching the sample with that of his or her relatives.

The identification of the body will not only put an end to the agony of the relatives of the missing and dead ones, but it would also help the police in probing if there was any foul play.

The identification of the bodies in time would also help his relatives to settle various civil issues like insurance etc, as a missing person, as per the prevalent laws, cannot be declared dead before seven years have elapsed, Mullick contended.