Madras High Court Bats For Common Cremation/ Burial Grounds Without Caste Segregation, Suggests Penal Action Against Any Violation

In a plea filed for assigning a permanent burial ground for the members of Arunthathiyar Community, the Madras High Court has recently held that segregation of burial ground for a particular caste/ community cannot be endorsed by the Court. While clarifying that the members of the Arunthathiyar community can ask the respondent authorities for allotment of a common burial ground instead, the court noted: "...any act of segregation or discrimination in cremation/burial of the dead body on the basis of caste or community within a religion, as well as preventing the members of any caste/community from burying/cremating their dead in common cremation grounds or grounds meant or earmarked for cremation/burial, and earmarking cremation/burial grounds for any particular caste/community exclusively, is violative of Articles 14, 15, 17 and 25 of the Constitution as well as against the spirit of the Fundamental Duties enshrined in the Constitution. As such, the prayer made in this writ petition qua allocation of a permanent place for burial ground for a particular community viz., Arunthathiyar community, cannot be entertained by this court."The court was dealing with a writ petition filed by B. Kalaiselvi and Mala Rajaram, aggrieved by the use of a water body adjacent to their properties for disposal of the dead bodies of persons belonging to Arunthathiyar community. They sought a direction to the respondent, District Collector, to allot a specific land for burial/ cremation of the dead bodies of the members of the said community. Taking note of the discrimination meted out to people on the basis of caste, even in death, Justice R. Mahadevan suggested a slew of measures that may be adopted by the local bodies, state government and other authorities to curb the menace of caste segregation: Separate Boards in cremation grounds dividing parts of land for separate communities must be removed in every village/ block/ district so that the entire cremation ground can be used by any of the communities.Construction and maintenance, as well as allowing the use of common burial grounds and connected amenities by all communities in a religion without being discriminated or segregated, and without infringing on the constitutional right under Article 25.Removal of any social disability that impedes the fulfilment of commitments under the Constitution as well as the International Convention for Elimination of All Forms Of Racial Discrimination, and the Declaration on Race and Racial Prejudice, to which India is a signatory. Additionally, the court has vouched for elaborate consultation with concerned stakeholders to achieve the ends of building common burial grounds, taking remedial measures to eradicate the social disabilities that continue dividing people, sensitisation programs for proper implementation of the idea of common burial grounds and penal action for violations. The single-judge bench also indicated that constituencies and wards that uphold the concept of common burial grounds in letter and spirit can be considered for the grant of incentives, financial or otherwise. In addition to the above, the government can also take initiative to include the values of religious and communal tolerance, and facets of diversity in school curriculum, observed the court. The High Court has also called the educational resources including teachers to fight the social evil of caste segregation by fostering the scientific temper if children and familiarizing them with the unity in the diversified existence of human beings. Background During the course of hearing, it was pointed out by the petitioners that the dead bodies of Arunthathiyar community were buried in the land classified 'odai puramboke' that bounds their lands, in contravention of Rule 7 of the Tamil Nadu Village Panchayats (Provision of burial and burning grounds) Rules, 1999 which prohibits any person from buying or burning any corpse in any place within 90 meters of a dwelling place. It was further contended that there is a violation of their rights guaranteed under Articles 21 and 300 of Indian Constitution. It also raises the threat of flooding in the rainy season, contended the petitioner. The counsel appearing for the respondent authorities submitted that there are 30 Arunthathiyar families in Madur village who have been cremating the dead bodies of their kith and kin in two adjacent odai puramboke land for three decades. Upon their recent request to allot a burial ground, it was found out by the respondent authorities that there are no suitable grounds that can be allotted to the community. In the meanwhile, the community was allowed to use the odai purambokes for burial/ cremation of the dead, submitted the counsel. The counsel also revealed that a letter was sent by the Revenue Divisional Officer to Kallakurichi's Tahsildar to find out a suitable government land that...

Madras High Court Bats For Common Cremation/ Burial Grounds Without Caste Segregation, Suggests Penal Action Against Any Violation

Sebin James

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