Madras High Court’s full bench ruled that all dead bodies in Tamil Nadu must only be buried at designated burial sites, whether in cities or rural areas. This decision was made despite the fact that the Tamil Nadu Village Panchayats (Provision of Burial and Burning Grounds) Rules, 1999, did not explicitly impose such a restriction on burials. The Issue was referred to the full bench by a division bench in June, seeking clarification on whether burials could take place at locations other than the designated burial sites, especially when such designated land exists in the village.
The full bench answered the reference in the negative, stating that burials cannot take place at locations other than the designated sites in the state. It also emphasized the importance of public health and ordered that any dead bodies buried at non-designated sites must be exhumed and reburied at the designated burial sites. The cost of exhumation and reburial will be borne by the concerned family.
The ruling came about after a petition filed by Jagadheeswari, challenging a previous order to exhume and relocate the remains of her deceased husband from a private land burial site to a designated burial site. The division bench had earlier held that burying dead bodies in places not designated for such purposes could not be allowed.
The recent full bench judgment reinforces the importance of adhering to designated burial sites in Tamil Nadu and ensures that burials are carried out in accordance with the law and public health concerns.
Name- Divya Choudhary , College- National University of Study and Research in Law, Ranchi. , Semester-2nd semester (1ST Year), an intern under Legal Vidhiya.
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