The Kerala High Court in Krishna Das C. Vs. State of Kerala judgment dated 2 July, 2015 held that “the last rite of dead bodies, according to Hindu rites and customs, is the right which cannot be denied to the community, but burning ghats/cematries have to come up with the modern scientific measures to avoid the environmental pollution”.A Division Bench comprised of Chief Justice Ashok Bhushan and A.M. Shaffique observed that “when the statutory scheme as delineated by Rule 10, clearly contemplated that when the burning ghat has endangered or likely to endanger the health of persons living in the neighbourhood thereof, a decision can be taken to prohibit the use of burning ghats. Thus, the statutory scheme contemplated closure of the burning ghats subject to statutory requirement as prescribed therein. There is no such concept of partial closure or closure for the bodies coming from outside the Panchayat area”.
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