Shillong: The High Court of Meghalaya has directed the district adjudicators, through the functionaries below them, to hold meetings with members of the Hindu and indigenous Khasi and Jaintia communities to convince them to accept one crematorium or one place for the cremation of the dead. This observation was made by the court while hearing a PIL on Friday.
“We observe in the order dated 22nd September 2023 that the inquiry by the court at that point of time was confined to, inter alia, cremation amenities in the major municipalities of Meghalaya,” the court said. The court stated that the indigenous Khasi and Jaintia people follow an analogous cremation procedure to Hindus. It redirected out that there may be many who might have no objection to cremating their dead along with the Hindus despite different rituals accompanying the burial, the basis for seeking different crematoriums.
The Amicus Curiae was directed to hold an online meeting with all the district adjudicators or deputy officers of the state’s 12 sections, wherein, inter alia, the DMs will be asked to take over an investigative study through the BDO position and lower officers and notify the Amicus Curiae of any point or place in a particular where a crematorium or a ground for cremation of the dead isn't available within 10 km.
While indicating whether the presence of the crematorium is within 10 km of a particular point or place, each district justice or the deputy manager was directed to indicate the population viscosity of that area. Through the functionaries below them, the DMs have been asked to hold meetings with members of the Khasi, Jaintia, and Hindu communities to convert them to accept one crematorium.
The court proposes to pass further directions on the PIL grounded on the Amicus Curiae's report. The court requested the Amicus Curiae to submit a report by February 28, 2025.
ALSO READ: Tripura: GRP Nabs Notorious Human Trafficker Near Agartala
ALSO WATCH: