Burning Dead Body Inside Someone's House Disrespectful, An Act Of Desecration: Rajasthan High Court
Rajasthan High Court has rejected bail applications of two persons accused of trespassing the complainant's house with 40-50 people carrying arms and weapons, vandalizing it, and burning a girl's dead body inside the house.
“Involvement of 40-50 individuals and the blatant act of entering the complainant's home to commit these atrocities demonstrates a profound disregard for the law. Given that the accused were part of a large group, there is a strong likelihood that witnesses, including the complainant, may feel threatened or pressured if the accused are granted bail.”
The bench of Justice Rajendra Prakash Soni rejected the argument of the petitioner that both the Parties belonged to tribal community and the act was done pursuant to a social custom of “Mautana” since the complainant's son was responsible for the death of the girl whose body was burnt
The Court was hearing a bail application wherein the complaint was filed by an individual stating that his son, while driving a jeep, was involved in an accident in which petitioner's daughter passed away. Subsequently, the girl's family members, along with 40-50 other people, carrying weapons, arrived at the complainant's house.
The group trespassed the house, vandalized it and set the girl's body on fire using woods, inside the house. As a result, the complainant suffered significant losses.
It was argued by the counsel for the petitioner that both the parties belonged to the tribal community which had social customs of “Mautana” and “Chadhotra”.
In Mautana (compensation for death) tradition, upon a person's demise, the body is placed in front of the house of village leaders, officials or individual deemed responsible for a week or more, awaiting resolution.
Rejecting Petitioner's argument, the Court opined that burning a dead body inside complainant's house without performing proper rites and using the body in such a criminal manner was not only highly disrespectful but also an act of desecration.
Furthermore, it was observed that arriving armed in large numbers, indicated that the petitioners intended to intimidate and terrorize the complainant's family and the complainant was coerced into following the harmful tribal customary practice.
Accordingly, the bail application was rejected.
Title: Rupa Ram & Anr. v State of Rajasthan
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Raj) 309