Supreme Court stays exhumation of buried bodies of tribal Christians in Chhattisgarh villages

The Supreme Court today sought the Chhattisgarh government's response to a plea alleging that Christian tribals in the State are being denied burial rights in villages, and that dead bodies of tribal Christians are being forcibly dug up from their graves and relocated to undisclosed locations [Chhattisgarh Association for Justice and Equality & Ors v. State of Chhattisgarh]..A Bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and NV Anjaria also passed an interim order directing that no further exhumation of such buried bodies take place in Chhattisgarh."Issue notice returnable in 4 weeks. In the meantime, no further exhumation of buried bodies shall be permitted," the Court said. .The interim order was passed on a public interest petition (PIL) filed by the Chhattisgarh Association for Justice and Equality, some pastors, social activists, a doctor and three Chhattisgarh residents who claim that the corpses of their kin were forcibly dug up from community burial grounds and relocated elsewhere. Appearing for the petitioners, Senior Advocate Colin Gonsalves today told the court that Christian families in several tribal villages were being prevented from burying their deceased relatives in common village graveyards."The dead bodies are exhumed without consent and taken away to be buried in undisclosed locations," added Gonsalves..According to the petition, these incidents, of bodies being dug up after burial and removed without the family’s consent, are not isolated but form a recurring pattern across districts in southern Chhattisgarh, particularly in tribal areas.“Exhumation and forced reburial of bodies at distant places, sometimes more than 50 kms away, constitutes cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment of the deceased and their families, which is impermissible under Articles 14 and 21," the plea added. The plea has further claimed that burial grounds traditionally used by all villagers are being informally restricted to specific religious groups, with Christian families being excluded..The petition alleges that families are being forced to give up Christian burial practices and are pressured to follow majority religious customs as a condition for burial within the village.Describing the scale of hostility faced by tribal Christians in the region, the petition pointed to a incident from a village in Bastar district, where a burial site was allegedly desecrated to intimidate the community."Benur is a residential village in Bastar, Chhattisgarh. The hostility towards tribal Christians there is so extreme that, in a highly communal atmosphere, villagers exhumed the body of a Christian man who had been buried in the common graveyard for over twenty years. By then reduced to a skeleton, the remains were burnt to ashes and scattered with the deliberate intention of desecrating them and sending a threatening message to the Christian community," explained the petition.The petition argues that such practices violate fundamental rights guaranteed under the Indian Constitution, including equality before the law, freedom of religion, and the right to life with dignity..The plea also questions the conduct of local authorities, alleging that police officers often failed to protect families facing threats and instead encouraged compromise. “The role of the Chhattisgarh police is very communal... While in many cases there was the possibility of peaceful burial in the village itself as per the tradition followed for generations, the body was forcibly taken out of the villages to a so-called designated place by the police and administrations," it said.The petition further states that many pastors who helped bury the bodies in the village according to the wish of the grieving families were arrested. "Many of the pastors who buried the bodies in the village on the request of the families of the deceased were arrested and sent to police lock up and thereafter to jail.".The petition seeks directions to restrain State authorities and private individuals from interfering with the burial of deceased persons in their native villages. It asks the Court to affirm that all individuals, irrespective of religion, caste, or tribal status, are entitled to be buried within the village where they lived, in the same manner as other communities.The petition further prays for instructions to gram panchayats to clearly mark burial areas in every village for all communities, without discrimination. In addition, the plea urges for the issuance of directions for the State to encourage common or shared graveyards to promote equality and social harmony..Advocate Satya Mitra also represented the petitioners. .[Live Coverage].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.