State Under Obligation To Provide Access To Burial/Cremation Facilities To Members Of All Communities: Madras High Court

The Bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy was hearing a plea by one Venkatesan who complained of the failure of the State Administration to provide for a burial ground or area for the cremation of the dead belonging to the petitioner's community at Madhuravalli Village, Thittakudi Taluk, Cuddalore District.

It was argued by the petitioner that except persons belonging to his community, all other communities are being permitted to bury their dead at the common burial ground.

As a consequence, it was argued, members of his community were being put to great hardship inasmuch as they are constrained to bury their dead at an adjacent waterbody.

It was further stated that multiple representations were submitted to the official respondents but that no action had been taken thereon. A request was made to the official respondents to allot a small portion of land in the said survey numbers for use by members of the petitioner's community.

Accordingly, the Court directed the District collector, Cuddalore District to consider the representation of the petitioner submitted on behalf of all members of his community and to dispose of the same by a reasoned order within a period of eight weeks.

In related news, last year, asserting that the Right to a decent funeral can also be traced in Article 25 of the Constitution of India, the Calcutta High Court had ruled that the immediate family members of Covid-19 victims be permitted to perform the funeral rites of the deceased subject to them following certain precautionary guidelines to eliminate/minimize the risk of them becoming infected by the deadly virus which has caused devastation in the form of loss of countless lives across the world.

Taking cognisance of a news item telecasted last year as to how the burial of a doctor, who succumbed to a heart attack, his ongoing health problems having been aggravated on account of COVID infection, invited mass opposition, creating a law and order situation, the Madras High Court last year issued notice to the state on the issue of the right to burial being guaranteed under Article 21.

Case title – Venkateshan v. The Principal Secretary Adi -Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department

Click here To Download Order

Read Order