A parliamentary report has listed Defence Minister A.K. Antony as "deceased" in an inadvertent printing error.

The Hindi version of a standing committee report on health and family welfare, put an asterix against Antony's name, with a footnote saying that "24 October, 2006 ko nidhan ke karan sadasya nahin hain" (Ceased to be a member as he passed away on Oct 24, 2006).

The goof-up was a result of a printing error in the Hindi version.

The member who passed away was Sukhbans Kaur, a Rajya Sabha member, and Antony "ceased to be a member" of the health and family welfare standing committee after he was elevated as a central minister.

Instead of writing that Antony was no longer a member of the committee because he had become a minister, the report mistakenly said that he had 'died' on the day his name was taken off the panel.

Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh, who heads the committee, had this to say in explanation: "In northern India, seeing someone's name as dead is considered to be auspicious. We spread wrong news about somebody's death to get him a long life."

Singh also said that he and the other members of the committee respect Antony as "he is an honest minister".

The English version of the report, however, did not have the error.