SC reserves judgement on Christian man’s plea to bury father in Chhattisgarh village

The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved its order on a petition challenging the Chhattisgarh High Court’s January 9 ruling denying a Christian pastor’s son the right to bury his father’s body at a graveyard in Bastar’s Chhindawada village, Live Law reported.

The court emphasised that the right to “a decent burial” is of utmost importance and called for the matter to be resolved peacefully but urgently.

The court had on Monday said that it was pained that the Chhattisgarh government and High Court had not been able to resolve the complaint of Ramesh Baghel, who has not been able to bury his father Subhash due to objections from residents.

Subhash, a senior citizen, died on January 7 due to illness and his body has been kept in a mortuary since.

Baghel moved the Supreme Court after the Chhattisgarh High Court rejected his plea on January 9.

The High Court, in its order, noted that the Christian community does not have a separate graveyard in the village but a separate burial ground in Karkapal village, about 20 to 25 km away.

During the hearing on Wednesday, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the State of Chattishgarh reiterated that the burial must take place at the “designated” graveyard in Karkapal. He said the case was a matter of maintaining law and order...

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