Bilaspur, the Chhattisgarh High Court ordered the burial of the body of a woman, who had converted to Christianity, on a private plot owned by her in her native village in Bastar district of the state, as per the wishes of her family.
A bench of Justice Parth Prateem Sahu passed the order on Monday while hearing a petition filed by Ramlal Kashyap of Arracote village under Parpa police station limits in Bastar district of the state.
Kashyap petitioned for his mother's last rites at the cemetery located in his native village of Arracote according to Christian customs and traditions, but was opposed by local tribal villagers.
In its order, the court said: "It is already a well-settled principle of law in Article 21 of the Constitution of India, including the right of people to have a dignified burial. The right to life entails a meaningful life with human dignity, not just the life of an animal, and this right also extends to a person who is dead. This right extends until the death of a person and encompasses the right to a dignified life until death, including a procedure. of dignified death".
The petitioner's mother, Pando Kashyap, died a natural death in Arracote village on June 28.
Kashyap wanted to bury her mother's body in a village graveyard according to Christian rituals, but other villagers objected and reported the issue to the Parpa station house officer (SHO).
Instead of advising the villagers to allow the petitioner to bury his mother's body in the graveyard, the SHO asked the petitioner to bury his mother's body in a special graveyard for members of the Christian community in Korkapal village, a 15 km from Arracote.
The body of the petitioner's mother remained in a mortuary at a government-run medical college in Jagdalpur as it began to decompose.
The high court directed the authorities to hand over her mother's body to the petitioner for burial in her native village.
The high court also directed the Bastar Superintendent of Police to provide adequate protection to the petitioner and his family members until the body is buried decently.
A bench of Justice Parth Prateem Sahu passed the order on Monday while hearing a petition filed by Ramlal Kashyap of Arracote village under Parpa police station limits in Bastar district of the state.
Kashyap petitioned for his mother's last rites at the cemetery located in his native village of Arracote according to Christian customs and traditions, but was opposed by local tribal villagers.
In its order, the court said: "It is already a well-settled principle of law in Article 21 of the Constitution of India, including the right of people to have a dignified burial. The right to life entails a meaningful life with human dignity, not just the life of an animal, and this right also extends to a person who is dead. This right extends until the death of a person and encompasses the right to a dignified life until death, including a procedure. of dignified death".
The petitioner's mother, Pando Kashyap, died a natural death in Arracote village on June 28.
Kashyap wanted to bury her mother's body in a village graveyard according to Christian rituals, but other villagers objected and reported the issue to the Parpa station house officer (SHO).
Instead of advising the villagers to allow the petitioner to bury his mother's body in the graveyard, the SHO asked the petitioner to bury his mother's body in a special graveyard for members of the Christian community in Korkapal village, a 15 km from Arracote.
The body of the petitioner's mother remained in a mortuary at a government-run medical college in Jagdalpur as it began to decompose.
The high court directed the authorities to hand over her mother's body to the petitioner for burial in her native village.
The high court also directed the Bastar Superintendent of Police to provide adequate protection to the petitioner and his family members until the body is buried decently.
