Kochi, Dec 18 (PTI) The Kerala High Court on Wednesday rejected the appeals of the daughters of veteran communist leader M M Lawrence, who were seeking handing over of the mortal remains to them instead of the Government Medical College Hospital here.
A bench of Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice S Manu dismissed the appeals by Asha Lawrence and Sujatha Boban, both daughters of the late communist veteran, against a single judge's decision to hand over the remains to the medical college.
While dismissing the appeals, the bench referred to the final words of English poet William Ernest Henley's short poem 'Invictus' -- 'I am the captain of my soul, I am the master of my fate' -- and said that even after death "other people may still have a say in one's destiny".
The High Court said that Asha Lawrence has not claimed that her father at any time expressed a desire to have his body cremated following the Christian religious customs and practices.
"Her claim that the body of the father should be cremated in accordance with the religious tenets is only on the basis of an inference she attempts to draw from the fact that her father had followed certain religious practices.
"That by itself is not a sufficient reason in our view to reject the more probable case of the 5th Respondent (M L Sajeevan - son of M M Lawrence) in the facts and circumstances of this case," the bench said.
Lawrence's son Sajeevan, who was taking care of his father in his last few years, had said that his father wanted his body to be donated to scientific study.
The High Court said that neither Asha Lawrence nor Sujatha Boban have not stated why Sajeevan's contention should be disbelieved.
It also upheld the decision of the medical college which had formed a committee and held a hearing to decide the validity of Sajeevan's claim.
The medical college had held that the consent to hand over the body was valid and in accordance with the provisions of the Kerala Anatomy Act, 1957 and directed that the body of late M M Lawrence be accepted and transferred to the Anatomy Department to be embalmed and preserved till being taken up for teaching purposes.
The High Court said that the medical college's decision has been taken "on the basis of probabilities emerging in the facts and circumstances of the case" and "cannot be termed as improper or perverse".
Advocate Krishna Raj R, representing Asha Lawrence, said that his client will move an appeal in the Supreme Court against the High Court's order.
Dramatic scenes were witnessed at the Ernakulam town hall here on September 23, where the mortal remains of Lawrence were kept for public homage, as the late leader's daughter -- Asha Lawrence -- protested the decision to hand over his body to the medical college.
She had subsequently moved the High Court challenging the decision of her siblings to donate their father's body to the medical college for educational purposes.
Her sister Sujatha Boban had also later moved the High Court seeking the same relief.
A single judge of the High Court had on October 23 dismissed their pleas, prompting them to file an appeal against it.
The medical college authorities had said that as per the affidavit filed by M L Sajeevan, the son of Lawrence, the communist leader had given his consent in March 2024 in front of two witnesses to hand over his remains for educational purposes.
Lawrence died on September 21 at the age of 95.