Government asked to respond to plea on Bose ashes

The Delhi High Court Wednesday asked the central government to respond to a plea for directions to it to bring back to India from a museum in Germany what the petitioner claimed to be the ashes of freedom fighter Subhas Chandra Bose.

A division bench of Chief Justice D. Murugesan and Justice Jayant Nath asked Additional Solicitor General Rajeeve Mehra to inform it about the government's position by July 31.

"This is a news to us, for we heard that Bose was cremated in Japan and his ashes were lying in a Tokyo museum," the bench said, asking the government's law officcer to get back to it after ascertaining where the ashes of Bose were lying.

Petitioner social worker Prashant Paliwal, through counsel Sugriv Dubey, sought directions to the central government to bring back to the country what he claimed were the ashes of Bose from Germany.

"The ashes of Subhas Chandra Bose be directed to be brought to India and kept in a public place for praying tributes for the sacrifices made by him in the freedom struggle," the plea said.

The petitioner said through media reports he came to know that ashes of Bose were lying in a museum in Germany.