Supreme Court Restrains Exhumation Of Tribal Christians' Dead Bodies In Chhattisgarh For Re-Burial Away From Their Villages

The Supreme Court today passed an interim order restraining forcible exhumation and re-location of tribal Christians' dead bodies away from their village grounds in Chhattisgarh.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and NV Anjaria passed the order, while issuing notice on a public interest litigation assailing the forcible exhumation and re-location of tribal Christians' dead bodies in the state.

"In the meantime, it is provided that no further exhumation of buried bodies shall be permitted", the bench ordered, after Senior Advocate Colin Gonsalves, for petitioners, pressed for interim relief while alleging that the State was supporting the removal of the corpses.

Briefly put, the PIL has been filed under Article 32 of the Constitution claiming that tribal Christians in Chhattisgarh are being forcibly prevented from burying their deceased within the boundaries of their villages, though other communities are free to do so.

It is alleged that the corpses of the petitioners' deceased family members were forcibly exhumed without their knowledge and sought to be re-located to places away from their villages.

The petition claims that the Supreme Court's split verdict in Ramesh Baghel v. State of Chhattisgarh is being used by Chhattisgarh police to prevent the burial of tribal Christians in their own villages, even in places where there is no local dispute.

In Ramesh Baghel, the top Court delivered a split verdict on the plea of a Christian man from Chhattisgarh to bury the dead body of his father, a pastor, either in the burial ground of their native village Chindwara or in their private agricultural land. While Justice BV Nagarathna allowed the appellant to bury his father in his private property, Justice Satish Chandra Sharma held that the burial could be held only at the area designated for Christians, which was at Karkapal village (stated to be about 20-25 kms away from the appellant's native place).

In this backdrop, the PIL seeks a declaration that all persons, irrespective of their religion, caste or SC/ST/OBC status, are free to bury their deceased in the villages where they live. It further seeks directions to all gram panchayats in the state to demarcate specific areas in each village for burial of all communities and permit burial of their deceased in such areas. The PIL also seeks reliefs against interference with customary burial practice, as well as common graveyards for all communities (to the extent possible).

In related news, the Court recently dismissed a challenge to a Chhattisgarh High Court judgment which upheld a Gram Sabha's action of erecting 'hoardings/notice boards' at certain village entry points, whereby the entry of Christian Pastors and converted Christians was barred.

Case Title: CHHATTISGARH ASSOCIATION FOR JUSTICE AND EQUALITY AND ORS. Versus THE STATE OF CHHATTISGARH, Diary No. 54722-2025