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.
The petitioner contended that by virtue of the fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution, he was entitled to construct tombs in his property for burial of his family members without securing any permission.
The court pointed out that the fundamental right guaranteed under Article 21 was not an absolute right. Nobody could be permitted to be unruly in the guise of right to life guaranteed under Article 21 which, if permitted, would be an inroad into the rule of law prevailing in the country.
The court added that the legal framework regulating human life played its dominant position in democracy, and therefore, individual freedom had to concede to the freedom, rights, and interests of the community at large, failing which there would be utter confusion and chaos in the administration of justice, thus ruining the fabric of peaceful coexistence in society.
