Chhattisgarh: The body of a Christian will be buried 20 km away from his native village… SC's decision

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Today, the Supreme Court has given its verdict on a petition against the ban on the burial of a Christian in a village in Chhattisgarh. In the two-member bench, both the judges have a divided opinion. Justice Satish Chandra Sharma's opinion is different from the decision of Justice BV Nagarathna. Justice Nagarathna allowed the appellant to bury his father on his private property, while Justice Satish Chandra Sharma said that the burial could be done only in the area designated for Christians, which is in Karkapal village. This place is about 20-25 kilometers away from the appellant's native place.

Justice BV Nagarathna said in his judgment that it is the duty of all citizens to promote brotherhood. The peculiar facts should be kept in mind that the body of the youth's father has been lying since January 7. The appellant will bury the body in his private agricultural land and no one else will take any advantage of such a direction. He said that the state will have to provide security to the government so that the body can be buried in his private agricultural land. The state government will identify cemeteries for Christians across the state. This will be done within 2 months from today.

In fact, two Supreme Court judges, Justice BV Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma, have heard the petition in this case. During the hearing, the Supreme Court had said that it would be better to resolve the issue amicably. Therefore, the body should be buried at the place designated for Christians in Karkapal village. In the previous hearing, the Supreme Court had said that it was sad to see that a person had to approach the apex court to bury his father according to Christian customs in a village in Chhattisgarh as the authorities failed to resolve the issue.

Chhattisgarh High Court rejected the demand.

The Supreme Court had asked why a person living in a particular village should not be buried in that village? The body has been lying in the mortuary since January 7. A petition was filed by Ramesh Baghel in this case. An order of the Chhattisgarh High Court was challenged in the petition. The High Court had rejected the demand to bury Ramesh's pastor father in the designated area.