Delhi High Court allows Indian man's plea for transfer of son's mortal remains from UK

The Delhi High Court recently allowed a plea by an Indian father seeking the repatriation of his son's mortal remains from the United Kingdom (UK) to India to fulfill his late son's wish to be buried in his native land [Anthony Watts v. Union of India & Anr.]..The deceased man, Alfi Richard Watts, had passed away on July 15 at Chertsey, United Kingdom. During his lifetime, Watts had expressed his desire to be buried next to his grandparents in his hometown in Hyderabad, India. However, the High Commission of India in London refused to grant a Non-objection Certificate (NOC) required for the transfer of the Watts' mortal remains to India. The High Commission denied the NOC request on the ground that Alfi Watts was a British citizen and did not possess an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card at the time of his demise. His father, Anthony Watts (petitioner) therefore sought the Delhi High Court's intervention in the matter, so that his son's mortal remains may be brought to India. .On August 16, Justice Sanjeev Narula observed that the petitioner's deceased son was a person of India origin, which was confirmed from the documents placed on record.The Court noted that deceased man's wife also endorsed the request to repatriate his remains to India. The Court proceeded to overturn the High Commission's decision and directed it to issue an NOC for the transfer of the mortal remains of Alfi Watts from the United Kingdom to Hyderabad, India."A mandamus is issued directing Respondent No. 1 to issue a No Objection Certificate to Petitioner’s daughter-in-law/ Ms. Sharon Alphonso for transfer of mortal remains of late Mr. Alfi Richard Watts from United Kingdom to Hyderabad," the Court ordered. .The Court reasoned that the High Commission's insistence on an OCI card discriminates against the petitioner’s right to repatriate his son’s remains in a manner respectful of his familial and cultural ties.The Court also took critical note of inconsistencies in rules adopted by the Indian High Commission in the repatriation of mortal remains of people from other countries to India.The practices adopted by Indian diplomatic missions other than the one in the UK for the repatriation of mortal remains are more flexible, the Court was told.For instance, the Indian High Commission in Singapore allows for such repatriation without the requirement of a Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) card or and OCI card.The petitioner further pointed out that the Indian Embassy at Washington DC, USA allows repatriation of mortal remains of non-Indian passport holders without insisting on an NOC.The petitioner argued that this apparent lack of uniformity in the guidelines results in arbitrary treatment, based solely on the geographical location of the death of the deceased person.The Court agreed with these concerns. "The Indian High Commission in London mandates an OCI card for the repatriation of mortal remains, whereas other commissions do not impose such stringent requirements, suggesting arbitrariness in the application of these rules. This discrepancy is particularly striking given that the deceased, Mr. Watts, despite having altered his nationality, indisputably originated from India—a fact supported by his birth and familial ties to Indian citizens. Such an inconsistent application of policy, without transparent, rational justifications, contravene Article 14 of the Constitution of India, which ensures equality before the law and equal protection of the laws within the territory of India," the Court remarked, while allowing the petition. .Advocates Avinash Mathews and Namrata Caleb represented the petitioner.Additional Standing Counsel Chetan Sharma, Central Government Standing Counsel Balendu Shekhar, Government Pleader Rajkumar Maurya and Advocates Amit Gupta, Saurbh Tripathi, Krishna Chaitanya, Shubham Sharma and Vikramaditya Singh represented the respondent Union of India. .[Read Order]