Noting that "for Parsi Zoroastrians, the disposal of the dead in the towers of silence (wherever located) is a religiously mandated obligation and duty,” the Supreme Court (SC) of India in consultation with the community and the government has prescribed standard operating procedures (SOPs) for consigning Covid afflicted corpses to the dakhmas.
The procedures outlined by the SC state the corpses will be handled only by vaccinated pallbearers clothed in PPE (personal protection equipment) suits with gloves, face shields and N-95 masks.
"Neither relatives nor friends are permitted nor will be permitted to touch the dead body… It will be ensured that they will always remain beyond 10 feet from the dead body,” stated the judgment. The corpse will be brought "in a body bag which will not be opened, but as per existing guidelines, the face of the deceased will be allowed to be seen… by unzipping the face.” The funeral geh sarna ceremony will be performed by two mobeds wearing masks and gloves and standing 10 feet from the corpse. The corpses "will be carried in the body bags to the Towers of Silence in a bier.”
A particular dakhma will be assigned for the Covid afflicted victims with "a metallic bird net” over it to "eliminate contact with birds and animals and intrusion by vultures.” This will be set aside exclusively for Covid victims. After each ceremony the entire funeral area/parlor will be washed, sprayed and disinfected...
"We appreciate the fair stand which has been adopted by both the sides in ensuring that the issues which have been raised before the Gujarat High Court and, in continuation, in the proceedings before this Court had been amicably resolved,” stated Justices Dr Dhananjay Chandrachud and Surya Kant on February 4, 2022.
Justices Dr Dhananjay Chandrachud (l) and Surya Kant
As the judgment is applicable to Parsis across India, "it is not necessary for other punchayets and anjumans to move the SC,” stated Surat Parsi Panchayat (SPP) president, Jamshed Dotivala (pictured), as reported in mid-day (February 6). The scheme is practical only for those organizations that have more than one dakhma.
"We will have to approach the Bombay Municipal Corporation with the SC decision to permit this here,” Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) trustee Noshir Dadrawala told Parsiana on February 7.
"We can set aside one dakhma for the corpses of Covid infected, but there are larger questions that need answering… Hospitals are keen to have bodies of the infected removed from their premises as soon as possible….What happens if a death occurs after sunset…Can the body be stored in a morgue?” queried Dadrawala. (As per religious tradition, the geh sarna ceremony can be performed only before sunset.) Dadrawala pondered over whether the bodies of the infected will be placed in the dakhma in a body bag or otherwise. "This is going to create a stink (from decomposition)… Of course one hopes that with the aggressive vaccination drive, the (number of) deaths will taper downwards.” BPP chairwoman Armaity Tirandaz did not respond to Parsiana’s request for a comment.
"We prepared the first draft of the SOP and it was vetted by Dastur (Dr) Firoze Kotwal,” SPP chief executive officer Rohinton Mehta told Parsiana on February 5. "We have already identified one of our three dakhmas for the unfortunate victims… Our thanks are due to (senior jurist) Fali Nariman for arguing our case so effectively.” Nariman was assisted by lawyer Zerrick Dastur and the Delhi-based legal firm of Karanjawala and Company. Farrokh Jijina