India News | HC Notice to Govt on Swargadwara Ban
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The Orissa High Court Friday issued notice to the state government and asked the state special relief commissioner and Puri district collector to show cause as to why the order imposing ban on cremation of bodies at Swargadwara at Puri for persons residing outside Puri should not be quashed. Swargadwara, which literally means gateway to heaven, has a Hindu crematorium. Situated barely two km from the Shri Jagannath temple it is believed to be the bathing spot of Vaishnava saint Sri Chaitanya.
Cuttack, Jul 17 (PTI) The Orissa High Court Friday issued notice to the state government and asked the state special relief commissioner and Puri district collector to show cause as to why the order imposing ban on cremation of bodies at Swargadwara at Puri for persons residing outside Puri should not be quashed. Swargadwara, which literally means gateway to heaven, has a Hindu crematorium. Situated barely two km from the Shri Jagannath temple it is believed to be the bathing spot of Vaishnava saint Sri Chaitanya.
Thousands take a dip in the Bay of Bengal there throughout the year as it is popularly believed that those who do so attain salvation and reach heaven after they die. In the wake of rising cases of COVID-19, the Puri district collector had earlier this month temporarily banned cremation at Swargadwara bodies of persons who did not reside in the administrative jurisdiction of Puri district.
The district administration had, however, assured that there will be relaxations once the situation normalises.
Hearing a PIL filed by a person named Sanjeeb Kumar Chinara, a division bench headed by Chief Justice Mohammad Rafiq issued the notices asking the respondents to file their replies in affidavits before the next date of hearing.
The HC has fixed August 12 to list the matter for further adjudication. The decision of the district collector was severely criticised, particularly by the opposition party leaders in the state and the people in general disapproved of the decision given the strong religious sentiments attached to Puri.
The petitioner pointed out that the decision of the Puri collector violates Article 15 of the Constitution which states that the state shall not discriminate against any citizen on the grounds of his place of birth.
"Hindus from different walks of life have a pious desire that after their death their bodies should be cremated at Puri Swargadwara", the petition said.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)