I Can Die in Peace, Says Hindu, After Judges Back Fight for Open-Air Pyre

February 22, 2010 | No Comments

Andrew Norfolk

Times, February 11, 2010, 18

The Court of Appeal (CA) has ruled that Hindus and Sikhs in Britain can cremate their dead on funeral pyres. The landmark ruling follows a case brought by Davender Kumar Ghai, a 71-year-old Hindu, who wanted the right to be cremated by “sacred fire”, according to the ancient diktats of his religion. Mr Ghai’s request had been blocked by Newcastle City Council, which ruled that human pyres were unlawful. The CA ruled that existing cremation laws do not prohibit the burning of human remains on a wooden pyre open to natural air and sunlight. To comply with the Cremation Act 1902, the judges said that the ceremonies would merely need to take place within a building which, to meet Hindu spiritual requirements, could be a roof supported by pillars, or a walled structure with no roof.

Full report can be found here

Art. 09 Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religion, Ecclesiastical Law and Freedom of Religion, Environmental and Planning Law, Health and Safety Law

Leave a reply

Add your comment below, or trackback from your own site. You can also subscribe to these comments via RSS.

Disclaimer

Full copyright remains with the original author of each article. Please contact our contributing editors for source information.

Browse by

  • [—]AREA OF LAW
  • [—]ECHR ARTICLE

Cross Reference


Any All

Search

SHRLG Archives

Formed in May 2009, the Scottish Human Rights Law Group is a non-affiliated, independent, professional network for those engaged in legal practice and study, in academia and politics, in campaigning and in the provision of advice. It exists to raise awareness and knowledge of human rights law in Scotland, and to provide a forum for discussion of matters of interest across the field. The group organises seminars and roundtable discussions on human rights and is accredited for the purposes of CPD.