Larger bench held single judge order to exhume body from non-burial place

CHENNAI: The larger bench of the Madras High Court has upheld the single judge order to exhume the body which was buried in a non-designated burial place at Nochili village Thiruvallur district.

A larger bench comprising Justice R Mahadevan, Justice G Jayachandran, and Justice Mohammed Shaffiq observed that it is very clear that except for the place which has already been registered under Rule 4 of Tamil Nadu Village Panchayat (Provision of Burial and Burning Grounds) Rules 1999 or a new place where the license is obtained following the procedures contemplated under Rules 5(2) (3) and (4), no body can be buried or burnt in the place which is neither been registered or granted a license. The bench further observed that whoever prefers a new place whether private or public to be used for burying or burning the dead, a license from the panchayat is a prerequisite.

The bench also struck down the argument advanced by the Senior counsel NGR Prasad appeared for the appellant that there is no prohibition under any law to bury a body in the patta land with the consent of the land owner, provided it is buried 90 meters away from the dwelling place or source of drinking water supply.

The judges observed that “ the conditions of distance restriction from the water body, cannot be read in isolation unmindful of the purpose of the rules and other provisions thereunder, burial or burning body is subject to the other provisions in the rules”. The body is to be exhumed by the authority and collect the costs from the person who is responsible for that illegal burial, the exhumed body must be buried in the designated place, taking into consideration the public health, ruled the bench.

An appellant Jagadheeswari of Nochili village, Thiruvallur moved the Madras High Court (MHC) challenging the judgment pronounced by a single judge of MHC on April 28, 2023. The respondent Ramesh from the same village filed a petition in MHC by stating that Jagadheeswari had buried the body of her deceased husband in an undesignated place even though there is a separate place for burial.

The single judge directed the government to exhume the body and relocate it to the burial ground. The first division bench comprising Chief Justice SV Gangapurwala and Justice PD Audikesavalu, which heard the appeal petition, had transferred the appeal to a larger bench.

However, the larger bench upheld the single judge order to exhume the body and bury it in a designated burial place.