Release bodies within five hours of death, Bengal regulator tells private hospitals
Telegraph | 9 September 2025The order followed a complaint that Calcutta Medical Research Institute (CMRI) withheld the body of a 74-year-old woman for 15 hours because of a delay in insurance clearance.
“Private hospitals must release the dead body within five hours of death. Otherwise, they will face penal action,” said retired Justice Ashim Banerjee, chairperson of the commission. This could include cancellation of the hospital’s licence.
The woman died at 12.40am on August 12. Her son, who lodged the complaint, said hospital staff informed the family that the third-party administrator (TPA) coordination desk was closed and would reopen at 8am. The family returned at 8am, and the bill was uploaded to the TPA system at 9.25am.
“There were four to five exchanges between the hospital and the TPA, but the body was not released. The family had a ritual planned at 2pm. The son requested that the body be handed over and offered to stay back until the bill was settled, as the insurance was in his name. But the hospital refused,” said Justice Banerjee.
The hospital claimed the clearance came at 1.52pm. According to the son, it arrived at 2.51pm. He said the body was finally released at 3pm.
A CMRI official said: “We are looking into the issue.”
The commission said it had received multiple similar complaints. Its circular stated: “... it has come to the notice of the Commission that the licensing condition is not being followed in letter and spirit by clinical establishments and the release of the dead body is delayed or withheld to realise dues and also in the case of mediclaim, it is withheld till the approval is accorded by the insurance company for the bills.”
It directed that all clinical establishments “shall release the dead body as early as possible and in any case, it shall be released within five hours after the death of the patient.”
While the commission placed the onus on hospitals, private healthcare providers blamed delays on insurance clearance.
“Dead bodies should be released within the stipulated time, and we support the commission’s directive,” said Rupak Barua, president of the Association of Hospitals of Eastern India. “However, in most cases, the delay is caused by insurance companies. In some cases, patients leave large unpaid bills, which burden hospitals financially. These issues need to be addressed.”
An official from a nationalised insurance company said TPAs can process bills even outside office hours. “Our TPAs work around the clock. But many private hospital TPA desks shut by 8pm,” he said.
