Kochi: The Kerala High Court has directed the appointment of a mediator to resolve the family dispute regarding the donation of the late CPM leader M.M. Lawrence’s body to a medical college. The court emphasized that the mediation aims to peacefully resolve the conflict among family members and urged them to show respect for the deceased.
A division bench, led by the Chief Justice, made the observations during a hearing and postponed the case filed by Lawrence’s daughters, Asha Lawrence and Sujatha, to next Monday. The petitioners have been asked to suggest a mediator by then.
The division bench’s directive came in response to an appeal challenging the single bench’s earlier order permitting the donation of Lawrence’s body for medical studies. The final decision will be taken after hearing both sides.
Previously, the single bench had based its decision on statements from two witnesses who claimed that Lawrence had expressed his desire to donate his body to medical science in the presence of his son, M.L. Sajeev. However, the daughters appealed to revoke this order and requested that the body be released for burial in a church. Currently, the body has been handed over to Ernakulam Medical College.
The High Court’s single bench had earlier dismissed the daughters’ plea, stating that the witness testimonies were credible. M.M. Lawrence passed away on September 21 while undergoing treatment for pneumonia at a private hospital in Kochi. The CPM veteran had retired from active politics in 2015 after the party’s Alappuzha state conference.
