Parmod Kumar
New Delhi, Aug. 11 (UNI) The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice to the Central government on a plea by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s octogenarian daughter Anita Pfaff seeking repatriation of the ashes attributed to him and preserved at the Renkoji temple in Tokyo since 1945, so that he could be given a proper and dignified funeral and what she described as Netaji’s long “exile” could finally be brought to an end.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana sought the Centre’s response on the petition filed by Pfaff, an Austrian-German economist and Netaji’s sole living direct lineal descendant.

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Pfaff, told the Bench that Netaji’s daughter had approached the Court seeking the return of his ashes to India.

Seeking a direction to the Central government to repatriate the ashes, Pfaff has alternatively prayed that the government be directed to “facilitate her to repatriate the ashes” from Japan.

The petition has questioned what it describes as the prolonged failure of the Government of India to take a final, reasoned, and time-bound decision on bringing back the mortal remains/ashes attributed to Netaji and preserved at the Renkoji temple.

Pfaff has sought their repatriation to enable her, as Netaji’s sole living direct lineal descendant, to perform his last rites with dignity and finality.

She has repeatedly appealed to the Government of India to bring the ashes back from the Renkoji temple, where they have remained preserved since 1945, maintaining that Netaji deserves a proper and dignified funeral in India and that the time has come to end his long “exile”.

On Netaji’s 129th birth anniversary in January 2026, Pfaff renewed her appeal to the Indian government for the return of the ashes. She had also earlier written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention for their repatriation to India.
UNI XC RSA