The Supreme Court on Thursday asked Anita Bose Pfaff, daughter of freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, to “come forward” and file a petition in her name if she wants the court’s intervention in bringing Netaji’s ashes from Japan’s Renkoji Temple to India.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalia Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi refused to entertain a petition filed through Netaji’s grandson and author Ashish Rai, stating that the case related to reported disputes within the Bose family over the circumstances of the leader’s death and the health of the ashes, and therefore, the “direct heir” should approach the court.
“We respect her feelings and rights and will ensure that her feelings are translated into appropriate legal action, but she will have to come forward on her own,” the bench noted during the hearing.
Senior lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who represented Rai, told the court that the petition was effectively seeking compensation on behalf of Pfaff, who for years has been urging the Indian government to return her father’s remains to India.
“I am demanding his daughter’s rights to own his ashes,” Singhvi said, adding that Pfaff is currently in Austria and was present during the proceedings via video link.
However, the court indicated that it was not the petitioner before the court.
The court commented: “How many times will we have to adjudicate? We only dealt with this matter last year.”
“First, tell us how many family members are in this petition? He was one of our nation’s greatest leaders and we all bow to his great sacrifices,” she added.
When Singhvi asserted that the petition was filed by Netaji’s grandnephew, the court replied that such a sensitive matter could not be pursued indirectly. “This cannot be an off-the-wall fight,” the bench responded, adding that given the reported disagreements within the family over the incident, Pfaff herself would have to go to court if she wanted judicial intervention.
Singhvi then sought permission to withdraw the petition with the freedom to file a new application.
After allowing the petition, the court recorded in its order that: “The petitioner seeks freedom to withdraw this petition with freedom to file a fresh petition. The prayer is allowed.”
Pfaff, an economist based in Austria, has repeatedly appealed to the Indian government to return Netaji’s ashes from the Renkoji Temple in Tokyo, where they have been preserved since 1945. She believes her father died following a plane crash in Taipei in August 1945, an account supported by numerous eyewitness accounts, including the testimony of Indian National Army officer Colonel Habibur Rahman.
Pfaff said the remains should be returned to India for a proper and dignified funeral, saying it was time to end what she described as Netaji’s long “exile”. On the 129th birth anniversary of Netaji in January 2026, she renewed her appeal and noted that she had earlier written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking government intervention in returning the ashes. However, the issue of Netaji’s death and Ash’s health remained controversial for a long time.
