A Dalit Christian’s body lay in Chhattisgarh mortuary for 3 weeks—courts feared ‘public unrest’

In Chhattisgarh, Ramesh Baghel has been fighting a lone battle to bury his father, Subhash, in the village graveyard—but both the High Court and the Supreme Court have turned him away.

File photo of the Chhattisgarh High Court | Courtesy: highcourt.cg.gov

Subhash Baghel, a Dalit Christian in Chhattisgarh’s tribal village of Chhindwada in Bastar, passed away on 7 January this year. Yet, his body remained in the mortuary for three weeks. During this time, Ramesh Baghel fought a solitary battle to give his pastor father a burial in the village graveyard. And he was turned away by both the Chhattisgarh High Court and the Supreme Court.

The case—Ramesh Baghel vs. State of Chhattisgarh and Others—exposes not only societal discrimination but also the legal hurdles non-Hindus and marginalised communities face in securing justice.

First, the Gram Sabha refused to allow the burial of Subhash within the village boundaries, citing ancient customary practices. Then, Ramesh approached the Chhattisgarh High Court, which ruled that burying Subhash’s body in the village could “cause unrest and animosity among the public at large.” The court directed Ramesh to bury his father in the graveyard designated for Christians in Karkapal village.

In the Supreme Court, a two-judge bench failed to reach a consensus regarding the burial site. While Justice BV Nagarathna was in favour of allowing the burial in the village, Justice Satish Chandra Sharma held that the burial should take place only in a designated Christian cemetery. In the end, the judges issued a unanimous direction to bury the body in Karkapal, reiterating the state government’s submission that the graveyard is “located 20-25 kilometres away from the petitioner’s village”.

But that’s not true. In reality, Karkapal is approximately 45 kilometres away from Subhash’s village. Moreover, there is no official record of a Christian cemetery in government documents.

At midnight on 27 January, the Baghel family was forced to bury Subhash in Karkapal, despite requests from the administration to grant them time until the morning for their relatives to arrive. However, the administration and police rejected the request, citing the Supreme Court’s order to conduct the burial ‘at the earliest.’

The Supreme Court ruling raises serious constitutional concerns. If states begin to identify and establish separate graveyards for Christians, it will reinforce radical Hindutva ideology, which seeks to relegate non-Hindus and marginalised communities to second-class status.

• Dalit Christian Burial Rights Denied: Chhattisgarh courts ruled against a burial in the village graveyard, citing potential unrest.
• Legal & Social Discrimination: The Gram Sabha and judiciary reinforced segregation, forcing burial 45 km away.
• PESA Act Used Against Dalits & Christians: The law is enabling traditional village power structures to override constitutional rights.
• Hindutva Influence on Governance: The case highlights growing religious discrimination and second-class treatment of non-Hindu communities.

PESA law is at the heart of discrimination

Subhash Baghel’s family faced religious discrimination and social and economic ostracisation due to his conversion to Christianity, even though their ancestors were buried in the same village graveyard. The local Gram Panchayat opposed the burial, asserting that the village graveyard was exclusively for Hindu tribals. This incident is not an isolated case but part of a larger pattern where traditional village authorities, invoking medieval social norms, ban non-Hindu religious practices and expel the remains of marginalised communities from burial grounds.

At the heart of such discrimination lies the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA), which is being used to restore traditional village republics. Under this framework, Dalits, Adivasis, and non-Hindus are being specifically targeted. Their fundamental rights are systematically denied, including access to government welfare schemes such as the Public Distribution System, school admissions, and official documentation for birth, death, caste, and social status.

In scheduled areas, the PESA law undermines democratic principles. This traditional power structure places communal authority above individual freedom and dignity. It perpetuates a hereditary hierarchy, restricting the right to choose a life partner, denying women ownership of land and property, and enforcing social and economic boycotts against those who adopt modern lifestyles. Conservative elements resort to violence against individuals who defy these rigid norms. In effect, the traditional administrative structure in these areas holds more power than elected representatives or state officials.

Undoing the efforts of India’s ancestors

The root cause of animosity among tribal communities is the aggressive imposition of Hindu cultural practices. When people convert to non-Hindu religions, they are ostracised—expelled from their villages, stripped of ancestral land and livelihood, and even subjected to violence. The dead bodies of their relatives are exhumed and discarded outside village boundaries. Mass persecution and sexual violence against women in such families are also reported. A systematic campaign to ‘de-list’ converted Dalit-tribals is underway. It aims to ensure that communities discriminated on the basis of birth are unable to free themselves from traditional hierarchies and cultural slavery.

These incidents highlight the dangerous communalisation of the PESA Act and the supremacy given to traditional Gram Sabhas in Fifth Schedule areas. Caste and religious discrimination remain deeply entrenched in Indian society. Villages across the country operate as upper-caste strongholds, where the consumption of natural resources and livelihood resources are disciplined and controlled, determined by birth and faith. Seventy-six years ago, our ancestors abandoned this primitive system and tried to move forward by assimilating the concept of democracy and constitutional values. It is an irony that remnants of medieval social beliefs still influence India’s judicial system, which, driven by caste-based interests, is now setting unjust legal precedents in the name of “maintaining public order.”

The judiciary’s argument that “large-scale unrest and animosity can be caused among the public” exposes its own “helplessness.” The decision reflects a troubling capitulation to the Hindu nationalist agenda. It risks becoming a constitutional tool for excluding converted individuals from burial rights and pushing them into socio-economic marginalisation. This ruling not only mocks constitutional guarantees of religious freedom but also goes against the secular fabric of the nation.

At a time when governments at both the central and state levels are eager to implement a Uniform Civil Code, this incident exposes their true intentions. It stands as a grim reminder that India’s journey towards becoming a truly democratic and secular nation is far from complete.

The author is a human rights activist and is active in the anti-caste movement in Chhattisgarh. He is also the former president of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Chhattisgarh. Views are personal.

(Edited by Prashant)