The Kerala High Court recently affirmed that an individual’s decision to donate their body for anatomical studies takes precedence over family members’ wishes for burial according to religious customs. This ruling came in the case of Greeny Tomy & ors v State of Kerala & ors, where the court addressed a dispute involving the body donation of a deceased woman.
A Division Bench comprising Justice AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Preeta AK dealt with the case concerning a Christian woman whose body was donated to a government medical college. Her three children contended that the donation was made without their consent and sought to reclaim the body for a religious burial.
The Court, however, refused to intervene, emphasizing that the deceased had clearly consented to the body donation herself. The judges underscored the principle that an individual’s autonomy over their body does not end with death. If a person has explicitly stated their posthumous wishes, those wishes are protected by law.
“The right of a living person to decide on the fate of her body remains a part of her posthumous bodily integrity,” the Court stated. “While many individuals wish for a traditional burial, others may choose to donate their bodies for anatomical studies as a contribution to society. The law respects and upholds these choices.”
The controversy arose after Mary, the deceased, passed away on February 23, 2026. Three of her children, the appellants, claimed their siblings, along with a brother-in-law, took the body without informing them and donated it to a medical college. They argued that as legal heirs, they were entitled to conduct her burial according to Christian rites.
However, the siblings who donated the body asserted that Mary had explicitly expressed her wish to donate her body after her death and had executed a consent letter under Section 4A of the Kerala Anatomy Act, 1957. They emphasized that the donation was purely to honor her wishes.
An earlier ruling by a Single Judge had refused to interfere with the body donation, leading the opposing siblings to appeal to the Division Bench. On May 21, the Division Bench upheld the Single Judge’s decision, reinforcing the deceased’s right to decide the fate of her body posthumously.
The Court highlighted that laws such as the Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994, and the Kerala Anatomy Act are designed to protect individuals’ wishes even after death. Consequently, the appeal against the donation was dismissed.
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Representing the appellants were Advocates Haroon Ashraf, KT Saju, Mohammad Ishaaq, and Amjath TH, while Senior Government Pleader B Unnikrishna Kaimal appeared for the State.
[Read Judgment]
