Rajasthan Anatomy Act, 1986
No: 12 Dated: Feb, 26 1986
Rajasthan Anatomy Act, 1986
(Act No. 12 of 1986)
An Act to provide for the supply of unclaimed bodies of deceased persons to teaching medical institutions for therapeutic purposes or for the purpose to teaching medical institutions for therapeutic purposes or for the purpose of anatomical examination and dissection.
Be it enacted by the Rajasthan Stale Legislature in the Thirty-sixth Year of the Republic of India, as follows -
1. Short title and commencement - (1) This Act may be called the Rajasthan Anatomy Act, 1986.
(2) This section shall be deemed to have come into force on the 18th day of November, 1985 and the [remaining] provisions of this Act shall, and shall be deemed to have, come into force on such date and in such area as the State Government may, by Notification in the Official Gazetted, specify and different dates may be specified for different areas.
2. Definitions. - In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,-
(a) "Authorised Officer" means an officer appointed by the State Government under Section 3;
(b) "near relative" mutts any of the following relatives of the deceased, namely, wife, husband, parent, son, daughter, brother and sister and includes any other person who is related to the deceased,-
(i) by lineal or collateral consanguinity, within three degrees in lineal relationship and six degrees in collateral relationship; or
(ii) by marriage either With the deceased or with any relative specifically mentioned in this clause or with any other relative within the aforesaid degrees;
Explanation - The expressions "lineal consanguinity" and "collateral consanguinity" shall have the same meanings as respectively assigned to them in Sections 25 and 26 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925.
(c) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(d) "teaching medical institution" means any of the institutions specified in the schedule to this Act and includes any other institution which may be declared by the State Government, by notification in the official Gazetted, to be a teaching medical institution for the purpose of this Act; and
(e) "unclaimed body" means the body of a deceased person which is not claimed by any of his near relatives or any person of his caste, creed or religion within seven days of death.
3. Power of State Government to appoint Authorised Officers - The State Government may, by notification in the official Gazetted, appoint for the areas in which this Act comes into force or any part thereof, one or more officers, to be called Authorised Officer, to whom a report shall be made under Section 4 and who shall exercise the powers and perform the duties conferred and imposed on the authorised officer under this Act.
4. Unclaimed bodies to be used for therapeutic purposes or anatomical examination - (1) Where a person under treatment in a hospital, whether established by or vesting in or maintained by the State Government or any local authority, dies in such hospital and his body is unclaimed, the authorities in-charge of such hospital shall, with the least practicable delay, report the fact to the Authorised Officer and, thereupon, it shall be lawful for such officer to take possession of the unclaimed body and hand it over to the authorities in -charge of a teaching medical institution for therapeutic purpose or for the purpose of conducting post-mortem or anatomical examination and dissection.
(2) Where a person dies at a hospital other than a hospital referred to in sub-section (1) or in a prison and his body is unclaimed, authorities in-charge of such hospital or prison, shall, with the least practicable delay, report the.fact to the authorised officer and thereupon, it shall be lawful for such officer to take possession of the unclaimed body and hand it over to authorities in-charge of a teaching medical institution for the purpose specified in sub-section (1).
(3) Where a person dies in any public place in an area in which he had a permanent place of residence and his body is not claimed by any of his near relatives or by any person of his caste, creed or religion, the authorised officer shall take possession of the unclaimed body and shall hand it over to the authorities in-charge of a teaching medical institution for the purpose specified in sub-section (1).
(4) When there is any doubt regarding the cause of death or when for any other reason the authorised officer considers it expedient so to do, he shall forward the unclaimed body to the Police Officer referred to in Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
(5) Where any unclaimed body taken possession of by the authorised officer under this section is not required by the authority in-charge of a teaching medical institution for the purpose specified in sub-section (1), it shall be disposed of in such manner as may be prescribed.
(6) During the period within which claim may be raised against treating the body of a deceased person as unclaimed body, the authorised officer shall arrange for the preservation of the body of such person from decay in such manner as may be prescribed.