Mon Jan 27 06:17:13 UTC 2025: **Supreme Court Orders Burial of Chhattisgarh Pastor Despite Judges’ Disagreement**
NEW DELHI, January 27, 2025 – The Supreme Court of India has ordered the burial of Pastor Subhas Baghel, whose body has remained in a morgue for over three weeks, at a designated Christian graveyard in Karkapal, Chhattisgarh. The decision comes after a split verdict from a two-judge bench.
Justice B.V. Nagarathna favored burying the pastor on his family’s land in Chhindawada, citing the gram panchayat’s failure to provide a separate Christian burial ground as discriminatory and a violation of the right to equality and dignity. She criticized this lapse as a “betrayal of the sublime principles of secularism.”
However, Justice Satish Chandra Sharma disagreed, asserting that existing Chhattisgarh laws mandate burials in designated locations, in this case, Karkapal, 25 kilometers from Chhindawada.
Despite the differing opinions, the court utilized its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to resolve the matter, citing the need for a dignified and timely burial. The court ordered the body to be buried in Karkapal and granted the family police protection.
The case arose after the Chhattisgarh High Court rejected the family’s plea to bury the pastor in the Chhindawada village graveyard, where “communal elements” reportedly opposed the burial. The family’s lawyer argued that the family had lived in the village for generations and that previous generations were buried in the same graveyard.
The Supreme Court’s intervention highlights ongoing concerns about religious discrimination and the need for adequate burial facilities for minority communities in India.
First Piper 