916. Conditions under which a body may be made over to friends.
(1)The body of any prisoner dying or executed in jail, shall be made over to the friends or relatives of the deceased, if claimed by them before the body has been disposed of by cremation or burial, unless there are special reasons to the contrary, e.g., the prisoner had died of any infectious disease, or if there are grounds for supposing that the prisoners funeral will be made the occasion for a demonstration.(2)The friends or relatives of a deceased prisoner making application for the body after burial, should be referred to the Magistrate of the District, who should be informed whether the deceased prisoner died of any infectious disease, how long he has been dead and whether, in the opinion of the Medical Officer of the Jail, the body can be exhumed and removed with safety or without becoming a nuisance to the public.Note. - Nobody can lay claim to a corpse as it is not property. When a prisoner dies, his sentence ceases, it merely remains, if the body is not made over to the friends or relatives of the deceased to dispose of it in a seemly manner, so that it may not become a nuisance and so as not to shock the feelings of the people.
