Kochi | Dramatic scenes were witnessed at the Ernakulam town hall on Monday, where the mortal remains of CPI(M) leader M M Lawrence were kept for public homage, as the late leader's daughter protested the decision to hand over his body to the Government Medical College Hospital here.

The unexpected events occurred after Lawrence's daughter Asha moved the Kerala High Court, challenging the decision of her siblings to donate their father's body to the medical college for educational purposes.

The High Court, after considering the plea, directed the Kalamassery Medical College authorities to hear the objections and take a decision in accordance with the Kerala Anatomy Act.

"It is therefore evident that the consent of the deceased need not necessarily be in writing and can even be orally expressed in the presence of two or more persons. From the submissions made at the Bar, it has come out that respondents 5 and 6 (siblings of the petitioner) have filed an affidavit stating that their father had expressed an unequivocal desire that his body be handed over and used for the purposes mentioned in Section 4A(1) (of the Kerala Anatomy Act)," the order read.

The court also ordered the medical college to preserve the body for the time being at the mortuary.

Asha and her son, both BJP sympathisers, protested when the medical college authorities reached the town hall to take possession of the body, amidst the chanting of slogans by CPI(M) workers who had gathered to pay homage to the leader.

However, the relatives of Lawrence forcefully removed Asha and her son from the casket.

Later, the body was taken to Kalamassery Medical College as per the direction of the high court.

Earlier in the day, senior political leaders of the state, including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, other state ministers, senior leaders of political parties, and others paid their last respects to the departed soul.

Soon after Asha moved the Kerala High Court, a Facebook post of Lawrence, put up in May 2021, went viral in which he claimed that she was not in touch with him for a long period and has never done anything for him.

His post alleged that Asha had clicked his pictures when he got admitted to a hospital and was spreading it as if she was there to take care of her father.

In the post, he urged everyone to ignore her attempts and said she espoused the Sangh Parivar ideology, which wants to destroy Communism.

Reacting to the drama, M L Sajeevan, the son of Lawrence, told the media that "some elements, including the BJP, were trying to exploit the situation."

"Some BJP leaders came and instigated her. Similar was the situation when her son was seen in a protest venue at Thiruvananthapuram with a senior BJP leader. They wanted to create an impression that Lawrence's grandson joined the BJP."

A few years ago, Asha's son partook in a protest at the state capital led by BJP leader Kummanam Rajasekharan.

Just because a father professes a particular political ideology doesn't mean the children should follow it. But, the BJP wanted to project it like that, Sajeevan added.

He said the family never had any issues with anyone joining any party.

"She was never part of any joint decision in the family for the past 15 or more years. But she used to create issues," he said.

In her petition, the daughter claimed that her father had been baptised and that all his children were baptised in the church.

Asha further alleged that her siblings, along with the Communist Party, were attempting to project Lawrence as an atheist.

Two of Lawrence's children-- Sajeevan and another daughter-- had previously given their consent to handing over the body to the medical college.

Lawrence died on September 21 at the age of 95.

Meanwhile, the ruling CPI(M) clarified that it has no role in the matter.

Whether to hand over the body to the medical college or bury it in a church is a decision of the family, the party said.

CPI(M) district secretary C N Mohanan said that the decision to hand over the body to the medical college was made by his son.

The court's decision came as the Medical College authorities reached the town hall to take possession of the body.

Sajeevan said that the family decided to hand over the body for medical studies as per Lawrence's last wish.