'Larger public interest': HC rejects plea to allow Parsi final rites of COVID-19 victims

The division bench of the Gujarat High Court dismissed a petition seeking permission to allow the last rites of COVID-19 victims as per the Parsi rituals. Listed before a single bench initially, the plea filed by the Surat Parsi Panchayat Board was subsequently heard by Justices Bela Trivedi and Bhargav Karia. The religious charitable trust sought direction from the court that existing cremation guidelines should be declared ultra virus Articles 14,19,21,25,26 and 29 of the Constitution. 

The novel coronavirus norms prescribe only cremation or burial for the disposal of bodies of persons who succumb to COVID-19. Thus, the petitioner argued that the guidelines completely ignore the religious practices of other communities resulting in authorities not allowing 'Dokhmenashini'. Practiced for several centuries, this method entails the dead body kept at a height in a structure known as 'Tower of Silence' to be eaten by vultures and the remains being exposed to the sun for decomposition.

During the hearing, the lawyers for the Surat Parsi Panchayat Board argued that it is the fundamental right of the Parsis to practice their religion in accordance with their beliefs. Senior advocate Asim Pandya argued that there is no scientific study to prove that COVID-19 can spread through dead bodies. On the other hand, the counsels for the government pointed out that the novel coronavirus guidelines were issued in the "larger interest" of the people to prevent the spread of infection. 

The High Court's observations

Weighing in on the matter, the court stated that there is no substance in the merits of the petition. It held that such guidelines issued in the larger public interest shall take precedence over individual interest and religious belief of a community. According to the HC, the guidelines are not violative of any fundamental rights of the Parsis. 

In its verdict dated July 23, the Gujarat HC ruled, "The safety and the welfare of the State is the supreme law as comprehended in the legal maxim – “salus populi suprema lex”. Even the fundamental rights to profess, practice or propagate religion, and the right to manage religious affairs, as enshrined under Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution of India, are subject to public order, morality and health". It added, "The impugned Guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare considering the prevailing situation of Covid-19, in the larger public interest for the disposal of dead bodies by cremation or burial, could not be said to be violative of any fundamental rights of the Parsees".