Why Gujarat HC ordered Muslim family to shift buried body to community graveyard
The Gujarat High Court ruled that a Muslim family must relocate a burial from disputed land to a designated community graveyard. The court based its decision on an inspection report confirming that the existing graveyard had sufficient space.
Why it matters
The case highlights ongoing legal and social tensions regarding land use and religious burial rights in India.
NEW DELHI: The Gujarat high court, in its July 13 order, ruled that a Muslim family cannot bury a deceased relative on disputed land if a designated community graveyard with sufficient space is available. The court dismissed a plea filed by residents of Gujarat's Bhavnagar district and upheld a panchayat notice asking them to shift the body to the village's Muslim graveyard.How did the burial dispute begin?According to the court order, the case arose after the petitioners buried a deceased family member on a 27-guntha piece of land near a Hindu crematorium.After the burial, the village sarpanch issued a notice asking the family why they had used that land instead of the village's designated Muslim graveyard.
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