High Court has directed committee to hold more meetings with stakeholders
and arrive at a decision
By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, July 30: Some members of the Hindu, Khasi and Jaintia communities have agreed to share a common cremation ground, the High Court of Meghalaya was informed on Wednesday amid a dispute regarding sharing of crematoria.
After hearing a PIL, a division bench, comprising Chief Justice IP Mukerji and Justice W Diengdoh, directed a committee to hold more meetings with the stakeholders and arrive at a decision.
Talking about the subject matter of the PIL, the court in an order said, “…The Hindu, Khasi and Jaintia communities cremate their dead. But there is division between the Hindus and Khasi-Jaintia regarding sharing of crematoria. The Khasi and Jaintia communities want separate crematoria for themselves.”
Stating that there is an acute dearth of space for burial of members from the Christian community that has various denominations, the court observed that their respective churches and religious orders own cemeteries but one religious order does not usually permit the dead from another denomination to be buried in its cemetery.
The court said this necessitated a common public burial ground for members from all denominations of the Christian community.
To resolve these issues, the court had earlier appointed an Amicus Curiae to sit with all the stakeholders, including the government and other public officials, and arrive at a decision.
“By our last order dated 7th July, 2025, we directed the Chief Secretary of the State to constitute a Committee comprising of a selection of stakeholders as mentioned in our order with the hope that some kind of a settlement would be reached between the Hindus, Khasis and Jaintias and between members of the Christian denominations. We also directed that an acquisition of land drive may be undertaken to set up common cemeteries for members of various denominations of the Christian faith,” the court said.
The Amicus Curiae informed the court that a meeting has been already held and more meetings are likely to be held soon to resolve the dispute. “We are told by the Amicus Curiae that some members of the Hindu, Khasi and Jaintia communities have agreed to share a common cremation ground. He further submits that if others can be persuaded to follow this, nothing could be better. Otherwise, the Committee might consider acquiring land for cremation purpose also. We direct the Committee to convene and hold more meetings and arrive at a decision,” the court ordered.
The PIL will be heard again on August 14, 2025 to ascertain the position. The Amicus Curiae has been requested to file a short report on that day.