Shillong, June 13: The Meghalaya High Court has directed the State government and the committee to hold meetings with the various denominations of the Christian community for resolving the problem of burying the dead in cemeteries.
In its order passed after hearing a PIL on Thursday (June 12), the division bench comprising Chief Justice IP Mukerji and Justice W Diengdoh said, “We grant the State and the committee time till the next hearing of this public interest litigation to hold meetings with the various denominations of the Christian community and arrive at some kind of a solution to solve the problem of burying the dead in cemeteries.”
“We adjourn this public interest litigation till 3rd July, 2025 to enable the State and the committee to file a joint report or separate reports by 1st July, 2025, serving a copy thereof on the Advocate-on-Record for the petitioner,” it added.
The bench also directed the three district councils – Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council, Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council, and Garo Hills Autonomous District Council to cooperate with the State and the committee for implementation of the order.
Earlier, the bench had sought a report from the state if there is any proposal to increase the number of cemeteries for members of the Christian community.
Initially, the scope of this public interest litigation was confined to facilitating the cremation of persons belonging to Khasi and Jaintia communities on one hand and those embracing the Hindu religion on the other hand, throughout the State of Meghalaya.
The main issue was regarding dearth of crematoria and the lack of willingness of the two communities to share a particular crematorium.
However, the government was in the process of constructing new crematoria in various regions of the State.
Later, the bench decided to enlarge the scope of the PIL to include the Christian community after there was similar discord between various denominations of the Christian faith to share a cemetery.
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