The Karnataka High Court on Monday (November 3) asked the state government to inform on whether any permission is required to bury a dead body on a private land and if the consent of the private land’s owner is required to be obtained prior to such burial.
Justice Suraj Govindaraj issued the direction while hearing a petition filed by one H Gopala Gowda.
The court orally said, “It can’t be in a person’s property who objects. It can be by consent but even by consent, can you permit the burial of a body without any permission? This will be a dangerous precedent and if you support it like this and we make the order it will be even worse”.
The petitioner had approached the high court challenging an endorsement dated 25/06/2025 passed by the 4th respondent (Assistant Commissioner, Revenue Department, Kollar Sub-Division) rejecting his representation to exhume the illegally buried dead body of his daughter-in-law buried in premises of his house and to dispose of the dead body in accordance with law.
As per the plea the petitioner’s son and deceased had married but due to differences, they were living separately and matrimonial proceedings were ongoing. During that time deceased allegedly committed suicide at her parents home which is almost 25 kms away from the petitioner’s dwelling house and in this connection mother of the deceased has filed a criminal complaint.
The plea states that on August 24, 2024, the brother and sister of the deceased along with their relatives had forcefully trespassed into the petitioner’s dwelling house premises with the support and strength of Mahila Sanghatana and buried the deceased’s body in the premises of the petitioner’s dwelling house.
This, the petitioner contended, was done without giving any information to the petitioner and also without obtaining permission and consent of the petitioner.
On 01/09/2024, the brother and sister of the deceased along with their relatives trespassed into the petitioner’s dwelling house premises and built a tomb in the premises of dwelling house of the petitioner, without taking petitioners’ permission and consent.
The plea says that the Assistant Commissioner’s order is against to the provisions of Section 95 of Karnataka Gram Swaraj and Panchayathraj Act, which states that no person shall in any panchayat area bury, burn or otherwise dispose of or suffer to be buried, burnt or otherwise disposed of any corpse in any place within hundred meters of a dwelling place or any source of drinking water supply, other than a place registered under Section 92 or licensed under Section 93 or provided by the Grama Panchayat.
The plea further claims that since the date of burial, the petitioner is not able to use his house for residential purposes due to religious reasons.
The court while posting the matter for further hearing on November 24, directed the petitioner to furnish a copy of the petition to the respondents by November 5. The court said that if the petitioner does not do the same, the petition would be liable for dismissal.
Case Title: H Gopala Gowda AND State of Karnataka & Others
Case No: WP 25746/2025
Appearance: Advocate Nishit Kumar Shetty for Petitioner.
