New Delhi: The Supreme Court Thursday refused to entertain a writ petition seeking directions to bring back the mortal remains of freedom fighter Subhas Chandra Bose from Japan to India.
After a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant expressed disinclination to entertain the plea, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Ashish Ray, the grandnephew of Netaji, sought permission to withdraw the petition.
Singhvi said that Netaji’s daughter would file a fresh plea before the apex court.
The bench, also comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul Pancholi, then dismissed the matter as withdrawn.
At the outset, the CJI-led Bench noted that similar petitions had earlier been filed before the top court and had been dismissed. “How many times will this issue come to the Court?” it remarked, recalling that a similar matter had been dismissed as recently as 2024.
During the hearing, Singhvi submitted that Netaji had only one legal heir, his daughter, Anita Bose Pfaff, and informed the apex court that she supported the plea.
However, the bench observed that the heir herself was not the petitioner and should approach the Supreme Court directly if she wished to pursue the matter.
“But the heir is not the petitioner. The heir must come before us. She cannot fight behind the curtains,” it remarked, adding that the top court respected the sentiments of the family, but legal action must be initiated by the heir concerned.
During the hearing, the apex court also commented on the timing and nature of such petitions.
The CJI Surya Kant-led Bench observed that Netaji was one of the country’s greatest national heroes and that it bowed before his memory, but added that the apex court was aware of the reasons and timing behind such pleas.
The petition alleged that the Union government had failed to repatriate Netaji’s mortal remains, which are preserved at the Renkoji Temple in Tokyo, where ashes believed to be those of Bose have been kept for decades. It sought directions for the remains to be brought to India so that his daughter could perform his last rites in the country.
