NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has issued an interim stay on the exhumation of bodies of tribal Christians in some Chhattisgarh villages to transport them to cemeteries designated for the religious community, with an NGO saying the act violates the fundamental rights of local Christians to be buried in their villages.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta on Wednesday agreed to hear a petition filed by the NGO – Chhattisgarh Justice and Equality Association – after senior advocate Colin Gonsalves cited the Supreme Court ruling on a petition seeking to bury the body of a priest in his village or agricultural field. While one judge allowed the petitioner to bury his father’s body on his own land, the other judge said that no citizen had an unconditional right to choose a burial place.
After the split decision in January last year, the court ordered the body to be buried at a designated burial place 25-30 km from the village in Chhattisgarh. After hearing Gonsalves, Justices Nath and Mehta sought a response from the Chhattisgarh government on the PIL and ordered that no more bodies be allowed to be exhumed.Gonsalves accused the state government of misusing the divided rule to stop the burial of tribal Christians in places within the village sanctuary.
The senior advocate said the court must intervene to direct that irrespective of religion, caste or status, every dead person has the right to be buried at specific places in his village.The petitioner said that the authorities should be directed to demarcate these lands for burial in those villages that do not have designated places for burial.Interestingly, a bench of Justices Nath and Mehta on Monday refused to entertain a petition challenging the October 28, 2025 order of the Chhattisgarh High Court asking the petitioners to approach the statutory authority regarding their complaints against Gram Sabhas who had put up banners barring the entry of Christian priests and priests for allegedly preventing conversion through inducement.
