The Madras High Court has held that denying members of the Scheduled Caste community access to a public burial ground constitutes a criminal offence under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 and amounts to untouchability prohibited under Article 17 of the Constitution.
The observation came while a Bench of Justice V. Lakshminarayanan disposed of a batch of three writ petitions concerning lands at Thiruvengadampalayam Hamlet in Karumandisellipalayam Town Panchayat, Perundurai Taluk, Erode district.
The court noted that although the survey lands were classified in revenue records as “cart track poromboke,” several villagers claimed the site had been used as a burial and cremation ground for decades.
Conflicting Petitions Before Court
The first writ petition was filed by a landowner seeking to restrain authorities from reclassifying the land as a burial ground and to prevent any burial or cremation there. He contended the land functioned as a cart track providing access to his property and alleged attempts were being made to convert it into a graveyard.
The second petition, filed by another resident, sought reclassification of the land as a designated burial and burning ground. He alleged that in August 2025, private individuals had uprooted trees, removed headstones and levelled graves using machinery.
The third petition sought strict enforcement of burial rules and prayed for exhumation of the body of a man buried there on 21 October 2025, arguing that burial in the cart track was unlawful.
In view of the competing claims, the court had earlier directed the District Collector to conduct an enquiry.
Tahsildar Report ‘Extremely Disturbing’
The Special Tahsildar’s report found that though the survey numbers were recorded as cart track, portions of the land had been used as a burial ground for more than 70 years. The report also confirmed that graves had been disturbed and levelled using machinery.
It specifically recorded that members of the Arunthathiyar (Scheduled Caste) community were utilising parts of the land for burials and that graves in those areas had been levelled.
Taking note of the findings, the Bench described the report as “extremely disturbing”.
Court on Dignity and Untouchability
The High Court reiterated that the dignity of the dead is protected under Article 21 of the Constitution and that the right to dignity extends even after death. The destruction of graves, the court said, affects not only the deceased but also their surviving relatives.
Significantly, the court observed that denying persons from a marginalised community access to a public burial or cremation ground constitutes a criminal offence under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Such denial, it noted, amounts to practicing untouchability, which stands abolished under Article 17.
The court also faulted authorities for failing to initiate criminal proceedings after the levelling of graves was brought to their notice, stating that appropriate penal provisions ought to have been invoked.
Legal Position Clarified
On the statutory framework, the court clarified that the Karumandisellipalayam body is a Special Grade Town Panchayat governed by the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Act, 1998, and not the Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act, 1994.
Referring to Section 172 of the 1998 Act and the Tamil Nadu Local Urban Rules, 2023, the court noted that burial or cremation must ordinarily take place in registered or licensed grounds.
However, relying on historical material, including a 2000 Town Panchayat resolution describing a road as “Cemetery Road”, the court concluded that a burial ground existed at least from that year.
It rejected the argument that the presence of a modern crematorium 1.5 km away automatically barred cremation at the site, observing that any such prohibition would require a formal notification by the council.
Directions Issued
Disposing of the second writ petition, the court directed the District Collector to:
- ensure segregation and proper fencing of the burial and cremation areas,
- keep the site free from encroachment and garbage dumping,
- act on the Town Panchayat’s resolution seeking reclassification, and
- initiate appropriate action against those responsible for levelling the graves.
The other two writ petitions, seeking to restrain burials and to order exhumation, were dismissed.
Source: LawBeat
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