Why Chhattisgarh High Court denied Christian man permission to bury father in native village

The Chhattisgarh High Court on Thursday dismissed a Christian man's plea for permission to bury his deceased father in the burial ground of his family's native village [Ramesh Bhaghel v. State Of Chhattisgarh & Ors]..Justice Bibhu Datta Guru said that the burial could lead to "unrest and disharmony" among the villagers, as there is no separate burial ground designated for the Christian community in the area.Further, the Court noted that there is a separate burial area for Christians available in a nearby village situated at a distance of 20-25 kilometers away from the petitioner's village. "Admittedly, there is no separate burial ground/grave yard for the followers of Christian community is available in village Chhindawada...claim of petitioner is that he wants to perform funeral rites of his father according to Christian religion, therefore, considering the fact that burial ground/graveyard of Christian community is available in nearby area, it will not be proper to grant relief as sought for by petitioner in this writ petition, which may cause unrest and disharmony in the public at large.".The Court passed its order on a plea filed by one Ramesh Bhaghel, who sought permission to bury his father in his native and resident village of Chhindawada. He contended that Chhindawada has a graveyard which is informally allocated by the gram panchayat for burial and cremation. Within this graveyard, separate areas are designated for the burial/cremation of persons belonging to the tribal, Hindu and Christian communities, it was stated. Further, the petitioner stated that his other family members had been previously buried in the section designated for Christians in the available graveyard area in Chhindawada..Some villagers had strongly opposed the burial of the petitioner’s father in the designated area and issued threats of severe consequences. They also prohibited the petitioner’s family from using their privately owned land for the burial, asserting that a Christian person cannot be buried anywhere in the village, whether in the village graveyard or on private property.Moreover, the petitioner stated that as per the provisions of the Chhattisgarh Gram Panchayat (Regulating Places for Disposal of Dead Bodies, Carcasses and Other Offensive Matter) Rules, 1999, it is the duty of the gram panchayat to facilitate disposal of dead bodies in the form of burial or cremation in accordance with the customs of the deceased person’s religion..The counsel representing the State, on the other hand, submit that there is no separate graveyard for Christians at Chhindawada. It was submitted that there would be no objection if the petitioner performed the funeral rites according to his original customs. However, in that case, he would be allowed to conduct the rites in the nearby village of Karkapal, 20-25 kilometers from Chhindawada, where a separate burial ground for the Christian community is available.Agreeing with this submission, the Court dismissed the plea..Advocate Kishore Narayan appeared for the petitioner.Deputy Advocate General Praveen Das appeared for the State. Advocate Rohit Sharma represented an intervener..[Read Order]