MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court has pulled up the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for allowing open cremations at Manori Beach, a 10–15 minute ferry ride from Marve Beach in Malad, observing that the civic body failed to act despite subsisting court orders restraining any activity on the disputed plot.
A division bench of justices Ravindra V Ghuge and Abhay J Mantri was hearing a petition filed by NGO Awaaz Foundation, which alleged that bodies were being cremated in the open on land reserved for a Hindu crematorium near Gorai Beach. The petition stated that the plot abuts the Arabian Sea along a rocky foreshore and that court orders had already barred all activities at the site.
According to the plea, the BMC had attempted after 2008 to convert the land into a cremation ground even though a functional Hindu crematorium already exists on nearby land earmarked for the same purpose in revenue records.
In March 2013, the high court had dealt with attempts to erect unauthorised structures in and around the location and directed the municipal commissioner to ensure their demolition and removal. Between 2013 and 2016, the court passed a series of orders restricting any construction or religious activity on the disputed plot, noting that adjoining plots were designated for crematorium use.
On August 26, 2016, the court permitted construction of a Hindu crematorium and warned that anyone obstructing cremation rites would face legal action. In a subsequent hearing on a plea seeking permission to repair a shed forming part of the crematorium, the court directed that an application be made to the planning authority for approval to repair the existing shed and compound wall.
Counsel for Awaaz Foundation argued that despite injunction orders, bodies were still being cremated in the open. He submitted that cremations themselves were never in question when earlier orders were passed, as no such activity was taking place then and the matter concerned only unauthorised structures on the disputed land.
The BMC, however, told the court that it had not granted permission to any Hindu organisation or association to conduct open cremations, and claimed that local residents had been bringing bodies there since 1998. The civic body said it had refrained from acting as the issue involved “sentiments”, but added that it would intervene if directed by the court.
Rejecting this stand, the bench said the corporation was “playing with words” in arguing that earlier interim orders did not specifically mention cremations. The judges clarified that the intent of the earlier relief was clear, that any activity whatsoever, including religious activity, was prohibited on Survey No. 290.
“In such a factual situation, there can be no question of performing funeral rites when even religious rites were prohibited,” the court observed. It added that the corporation is free to exercise its statutory powers to ensure that the functional crematorium on Survey Nos. 293 and 294 is used, and directed that residents of Manori and adjoining villages be instructed to immediately stop open cremations and use the authorised facility until further orders.