SC asks Netaji's daughter to move court herself for ashes

We respect her sentiments and her rights....but she will have to come forward herself

- Utkarsh Anand

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked Anita Bose Pfaff, the daughter of freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, to “come forward” and file a petition in her own name if she wanted the court's intervention in bringing Netaji’s ashes from Japan's Renkoji temple to India.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi declined to entertain a petition filed through Netaji’s grandnephew and author Ashish Ray, noting that the issue involved reported differences within the Bose family over the circumstances of the leader's death and the authenticity of the ashes and that therefore, a “direct heir” must approach the court.

“We respect her sentiments and her rights, and we will ensure that her sentiments are translated into suitable legal action, but she will have to come forward herself,” the bench observed during the hearing.