After differing opinion, SC Bench orders burial of pastor in designated place away from village
The Supreme Court on Monday delivered a split verdict on a converted Christian’s right to be buried at a cremation ground earmarked for Hindus in a Chhattisgarh village.
A body has been lying in a mortuary in Chhattisgarh since January 7, due to a dispute over the place of burial, the court has directed that he be buried at a designated place for Christian burials.
However, Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice SC Sharma decide not to refer it to a larger Bench; instead order that he should be buried at the burial ground earmarked for Christians around 20 km away.
While Justice BV Nagarathna said the burial of the converted Christian should be held in a private agricultural land of the family, Justice Satish Chandra Sharma said the burial should only be held at a designated place away from the village in Chhattisgarh.
The bench said it will not refer the matter to a larger bench and directed that the burial be held at a designated place, which is 20 km away from Chhindawada village of the state.
The bench said it is passing the order in view of the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case and directed the state government to provide full security so that no untoward incident takes place.
On January 22, the top court said it expected an amicable settlement and a decent burial of the pastor as it reserved its verdict on his son's plea.
The top court had passed the order on a plea of one Ramesh Baghel, challenging an order of the Chhattisgarh High Court which disposed of his plea seeking burial of his father in the area specified for Christian burials in his village graveyard.
The apex court had previously expressed anguish to have witnessed a man move court to bury his father as per Christian rites in the Chhattisgarh village after the authorities failed to resolve the issue.
According to Baghel, Chhindawada village had a graveyard which was verbally allotted by the gram panchayat for burial and cremation of bodies.
In the graveyard, separate areas were demarcated for burial of tribals; burial or cremation of people belonging to Hindu religion and for persons belonging to the Christian community.
In the area specified for Christians, the petitioner's aunt and grandfather were buried in this village graveyard.
The plea said the petitioner and his family members wanted to hold the man's last rites and bury his mortal remains in the area specified for Christian persons in the graveyard.
"Hearing of this, some villagers aggressively objected to it and threatened dire consequences if the petitioner and his family buried the petitioner's father in this land. They are also not allowing the petitioner's family to bury the mortal remains in the petitioner's family privately-owned land," it said.
According to Baghel, the villagers said a Christian couldn't be buried in their village, be it the village graveyard or a private land.
"When the villagers turned violent, the petitioner's family made a report to police following which 30-35 police personnel reached the village. The police also exerted pressure on the family to take the body out of the village," he said.
With PTI inputs
