India Notifies Its First National Minimum Standards for Mortuaries, Bars Basement Morgues
India introduced its first national minimum standards for mortuary and post-mortem infrastructure on 30 August 2026, finalised by the National Council for Clinical Establishments (NCCE) under the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) in line with the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010. The standards replace fragmented state-level medico-legal practices with a single national framework applying to hospitals in states and UTs that have adopted the Act. They mandate ground-floor placement, ending basement morgues, cold storage at 4-8 degrees Celsius with unique body identification, separation of medico-legal cases, and an autopsy block of about 4,000 sq ft including a 2,000 sq ft operating area.
The Clinical Establishments Act, 2010 applies to states adopting it under Article 252 of the Constitution and to all Union Territories | The Directorate General of Health Services functions under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare | The National Council for Clinical Establishments is the apex body that frames minimum standards under the Act