The court was hearing a petition filed by Govandi residents who had stated that the current burial ground is full and cannot accommodate the growing population and sought additional burial grounds for the eastern suburbs.
The bench had previously observed that the right of a dead person to a decent and respectful last rite is as important as other fundamental rights. (File picture)
Mumbai,UPDATED: Jul 2, 2024 05:45 IST
The Bombay High Court on Monday directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to ensure that three burial grounds are made available for Muslims in the eastern suburbs by December.
The bench, consisting of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar, was hearing a petition filed by Govandi residents Shamsher Ahmed, Abrar Chaudhari, and Abdul Rehman Shah, who argued that the current burial ground is full and cannot accommodate the growing population. They sought additional burial grounds for the eastern suburbs.
They added in the plea that the existing burial ground in the Deonar area was overflowing.
During the previous hearing, the bench had observed that the right of a dead person to a decent and respectful last rite is as important as other fundamental rights, while rapping the BMC for its callous approach in providing additional burial grounds.
Following the directions of the bench, BMC Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani filed an affidavit before the court apologising if the steps taken by the municipal body in complying with its earlier directions had in any manner implied any kind of callousness on the part of the Corporation.
“The Corporation is sentient about the importance of issue i.e. availability of sufficient amount of space for a decent burial of a dead human being,” stated the affidavit.
“There are three plots of land around the existing ground and the one adjoining it will be made available at the earliest,” it stated.
The affidavit stated that it had identified a plot of land in Rafi Nagar and another plot of land in Anik village, which is 8 km away from Govandi for the burial grounds.
The bench on Monday was also apprised about a pending litigation regarding a portion of a plot of land adjoining this property which was carved out for implementation of a slum rehab scheme of the Slum Rehabilitation Authority and a notification for the same was issued in March.
The bench said that “hopefully” by December 2024 the litigation around that plot would be dealt with by the court.
Advocate Altaf Khan, representing the petitioners from Deonar, requested the court that the petitioners be directed to at least fence the area given the propensity of land getting illegally occupied overnight in Mumbai.
The bench agreed and directed the BMC to “adequately fence” the plot so that no encroachment takes place. The developer of th SRA scheme has also been asked to fence the area.
Regarding the plot at Rafiq Nagar, the court has asked the health department to check the feasibility of a plot which is 1.5 km away from the present cemetery, within one month.
As far as the third plot of land reserved for the burial ground, which is owned by Oswal Agro Mills Limited (Former Union Carbide India Limited), the court has asked the authorities to complete the procedure to take over the land within three months.
The state government has completed the negotiations with the company for the plot, which is about 8 km away from Govandi’s main population centre in Anik village abutting the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL). The BMC said that it would take over the plot within the next three months.
Published By:
Ashutosh Acharya
Published On:
Jul 2, 2024
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