Seek boon of immortality for Christians: HC to state

Mumbai: The Bombay high court has asked the state to ‘seek a boon of immortality for the Christian community so that they do not need a cemetery’. The observation was made while hearing a public interest litigation filed by a trust complaining of not having any burial ground from Khar to Dahisar for the community and the land allotted to them at Goregaon being taken away by the government on the pretext of developmental work. The court asked the dairy development department to be present in court as the land is purported to be under their jurisdiction.

A division bench of Chief Justice Dr Manjula Chellur and Justice M.S. Sonak was hearing a PIL filed by United Christian Community Centre, which prayed against the ‘arbitrary cancellation of allotment of a plot of land by the state’.

While arguing the case, the advocate for the petitioners, Yashwant Shenoy, informed the court that while possession of plots were handed over to the Hindu and Muslim community in a composite cemetery at Goregaon (E), the Christian community did not get possession and on the contrary the allotment of 2,500 square metre plot was arbitrarily cancelled by the state. Mr Shenoy further argued that as the Christian community did not have a place for burial between Khar and Dahisar residents living in between were finding it difficult to give their loved ones a final resting place.

The dairy development department admitted in its affidavit that the allotment was cancelled but did not explain why. The bench took cognisance of the same and said that the state had discriminated against the Christian community in violation of their constitutional right. “You are not a dictator and cannot cancel the allotment without any reason,” Dr Chellur said. She further told the state, “…Seek a boon of immortality for the Christian community so that they do not need a cemetery” if it was not willing to give a plot to the community.