Delhi High Court seeks response from State, MCD on PIL flagging lack of burial spaces for Christians

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notice to the Delhi government, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on a plea highlighting lack of cemeteries and burial grounds for Christians. 

A Division Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia observed that under the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, one of the functions assigned to the MCD is to regulate and maintain places meant for disposal of the dead.

“It thus appears that it is one of the primary functions assigned to MCD to arrange for spaces where the citizens of the city can observe last rites such as burial grounds and cemeteries," the Court said.

Therefore, it directed the MCD to give details of the Christian cemeteries/burial grounds within its territorial jurisdiction and also the space available for the said purpose.

The matter will be heard next on November 4.

The Court passed the order while dealing with a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by Legal Christians Action Committee (petitioner).

The petitioner sought directions to the authorities to identify and allot suitable land in Delhi for a Christian cemetery, citing an acute shortage of burial grounds in the national capital.

According to the plea, existing Christian cemeteries at Burari, Patel Chest, Paharganj, Mangolpuri and Prithviraj Road are old and have reached full capacity. As a result, families are allegedly being forced to transport the mortal remains of deceased relatives to neighbouring states, including Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, for burial.

The petitioner said it had been approaching the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) since June 2025, including through representations and an RTI application, but no concrete action has been taken.

Further, the plea added that the DDA had identified three potential sites at Khajuri Khas, near Rajiv Gandhi Hospital and Sundar Nagri. While the latter two were subsequently ruled out, Khajuri Khas was taken up for processing. However, the petitioner was later informed that the Khajuri Khas land was unavailable for allotment.

The PIL petition before the High Court was filed through advocates Nagmani Kumar and Abhinav Kumar.