Panchayat:Repo18/Law Manual Page0564

THE KERALA PANCHAYAT RAJ (BURIAL OF UNCLAIMED CORPSES ANDCARCASSES) RULES, 1996*

[Translation in English of the Kerala Panchayat Raj (Burial of Unclaimed Corpses and Carcasses ) Rules, 1996, published under the authority of the Governor.] S.R.O. No. 278/96.— In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 166 of the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 (13 of 1994), read with Section 254 thereof, the Government of Kerala hereby make the following rules, namely:

RULES

1. Short title and commencement.-

(1) These rules may be called the Kerala Panchayat Raj (Burial of Unclaimed Corpses and Carcasses ) Rules, 1996. (2) They shall come into force at once.

2. Definitions.

In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires, - (i) 'Act' means the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 (13 of 1994);

(ii) 'Panchayat means a Village Panchayat constituted under sub-section (1) of Section 4 of the Act;

(iii) 'President' means the President of the Village Panchayat;

(iv) 'Secretary' means the Secretary of the Village Panchayat;

(V) 'Unclaimed corpse' means a human dead body found in any public place where the Kerala Anatomy Act, 1957 (Act 17 of 1957) is not in force or in a private place and not claimed by any one.

3. Intimation of the existence of an unclaimed corpses.-

Any person who comes to know of the existence of an unclaimed corpse within a Village Panchayat area shall, without delay, intimate the same to the President or the Secretary.

4. Procedure to be followed by the president and the Secretary in the case of unclaimed Corpses.-

(1) The President or the Secretary shall, on receipt of the information under Rule 3, contact the police officer empowered to take action under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Central Act 2 of 1974) and ascertain from him whether any action is to be taken under the said section.

(2) The police officer shall, if he is of opinion that no action is to be taken on the unclaimed corpse by the police, issue a certificate to that effect to the President or the Secretary, who shall, on receipt of the certificate take necessary action to bury the corpse.

(3) In the case of unclaimed Corpses on which action under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 is necessary, the police officer concerned shall, after completing such action, intimate the