Allahabad high court refuses to entertain PIL on bodies buried near Ganga

PRAYAGRAJ: Advising a petitioner to do some research work about the rites and customs prevalent among communities living along the bank of the Ganga, the Allahabad high court on Friday refused to entertain a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking directions to the state government 'to dispose of dead bodies buried near the Ganga at different ghats in Prayagraj'.
While allowing the petitioner, Pranvesh, to withdraw the PIL and file a fresh one, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Yadav and Justice Prakash Padia observed, “Having gone through the entire petition, we are of the view that the petitioner has not done much research work in respect of rites and customs which are prevalent among various communities living along the bank of river Ganga.” “Therefore, we are not inclined at this stage to cause any indulgence instead to allow the petitioner to withdraw the petition with a liberty to file fresh petition after inquiry and research in respect of the practice of last rites in various communities which are residing along the bank of Ganga," the bench said, adding "with a liberty above, the petition stands disposed of as withdrawn.”
The petitioner’s plea was that during the second wave of Covid-19, there were many who succumbed to the disease but were not cremated properly. He also pleaded before the court to pass order to prevent/stop burial of dead bodies near the river. The court refused to pass ‘any order at this stage’.
There was much uproar at the peak of Covid infection in April and May this year when bodies were found buried along the rivers and it was alleged that kin of deceased persons couldn't afford the cost of cremation and hence went for the burial. The state government, however, clarified that it was the tradition among many communities living along the Ganga to bury their dead on the banks.