The Supreme Court on Monday expressed its dissatisfaction and concern over a case involving Ramesh Baghel, who was forced to appeal to the apex court for the right to bury his father according to Christian rites in their native village in Chhattisgarh. This case came to light after local authorities and the Chhattisgarh High Court failed to resolve the matter effectively, prompting the Supreme Court’s intervention.
The bench, consisting of Justices B V Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma, criticized the inability of the panchayat, the state government, and the High Court to address the issue, which led to the body of Baghel’s father remaining in the morgue since January 7. “We are pained to see that a person is unable to bury his father and has to come to the Supreme Court,” the bench stated, reflecting on the serious communal and administrative lapses presented by the case.
During the proceedings, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the state, mentioned that there were no designated Christian burial grounds in the village, suggesting an alternative site 20 kilometers away. However, senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, representing Baghel, argued that Baghel’s family members had historically been buried in the village, indicating a precedent for Christian burials there.
The conflict arose from local tribal Hindus’ objection to the burial of a Christian in the village graveyard, which they feared could provoke communal unrest. This was further complicated by the police allegedly pressuring the family to remove the body from the village.
