Larger bench of Madras high court to decide on burial in private lands

CHENNAI: Can a dead body be buried in patta lands that are not designated as burial grounds?
A larger bench of three judges will consider the question and pass orders, as a two-judge bench comprising chief justice Sanjay Vijaykumar Gangapurwala and justice P D Audikesavalu referred the matter to the larger bench on Thursday.
The case relates to the burial of one Narasimma Naidu in a privately owned patta land in Tiruvallur district, by his wife Jagadeeshwari.
Objecting to this, one Babu Naidu filed a petition before the court demanding exhumation of the body and reburial.
He accused Jagadeeshwari of burying the body on the patta land despite the availability of designated burial ground in the area.
In April this year, a single judge concurred with the submission, and directed the authorities to exhume the remains of the body and rebury it in the designated burial ground.
Jagadeeshwari appealed against the order. Admitting the appeal, the first bench said full bench could explore whether the the Tamil Nadu Village Panchayats (Provision of Burial and Burning Grounds) Rules, 1999 allowed burial of dead bodies in places other than designated burial grounds.
Advocate NGR Prasad, counsel for Jagadeeshwari, argued that the panchayat rules and the Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act, 1994, do not contain a prohibition to bury the dead person in the place other than a licensed/designated burial ground.