New Delhi, Dec 27 (IANS): In a landmark decision, Delhi Government on Tuesday allowed the post-mortem of the dead body to be conducted even after the sunset in the hospital of the national capital.

In this regard, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Tuesday directed the officials of the Health Department to conduct the post-mortem even at night in hospitals with adequate facilities. He also asked the hospital in-charges to ensure all necessary infrastructure at the post-mortem house.

After the decision, the relatives of the deceased body will not have to wait for long hours and encourage the organ donation and transplantation. The post-mortem cases related to organ donation will be done on a priority basis.

Sisodia said, "Due to the availability of post-mortem facilities at night, people in Delhi will not have to wait long for the post-mortem of the dead bodies. This will give a lot of relief to the relatives of the deceased. However, in the case of deaths where there is suspicion of murder, suicide, rape, or foul play, a provision has been made to examine the dead bodies only during the day."

He informed that the Delhi government had sent a proposal to the Government of India for approval to conduct post-mortems in hospitals after sunset. Such post-mortems shall be carried out in hospitals that have adequate facilities to conduct them on a regular basis.

The Dy CM also said that to avoid any doubt or confusion, video recording of all the post-mortems will be done throughout the night and it will be preserved for future reference for legal purposes.

"Apart from friends and relatives of the deceased, this new process will also promote organ donation and transplantation, as organs can be retrieved within a stipulated time after the procedure," he said.