The Kerala High Court has observed that a private tomb or cemetery cannot be constructed at the whims and fancies of any private individual, be in his property or not, without securing adequate licence from the District Collector.
The court pointed out that Rule 8 of the Kerala Panchayat Raj (Burial and Burning Grounds) Rules, 1998, specified that no person shall bury, burn, or otherwise dispose of any corpse other than in any ground, which had been registered or had been deemed to be registered or for which licence had been granted.
The court issued the order recently while dismissing a petition by Mathew of Muriyad, Thrissur, challenging the show cause notice issued to him by Muriyad panchayat for constructing tombs in his 27-cent property without obtaining licence from the District Collector.
