Public notice will be issued in newspapers on graveyards: Karnataka Govt to HC

Public notices will be issued in newspapers seeking information on villages that do not have graveyards, the State Government on Thursday informed the High Court.

The Division Bench of Justice B Veerappa and Justice T Venkatesh Naik was hearing a contempt petition accusing the government of not following an earlier High Court order directing providing land for graveyards in all villages in the State.

The Court adjourned the hearing by three weeks after recording the submission of the government.

Mohammed Iqbal had filed a petition seeking a burial ground for his village. The High Court in its order in 2019 had directed the State to provide land for burial grounds in all villages in the State within six weeks. Iqbal filed a contempt petition two years later after the government failed to follow the orders.

In January, the government submitted that of the 29,616 villages in the State, 27,903 were already provided with land for burial grounds. However, the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority (KSLSA) which had been directed by the State to verify the claims found that many more villages did not have burial grounds.

On Thursday, the Court also directed the KSLSA to seek information from its district and taluk units on the availability of burial grounds in their respective jurisdictions.

Addressing the State, the Court said that burial grounds were basic necessities of the people just like roads and water.

”This is your duty and Constitutional mandate. But why are you not doing it? We are doing only drama for 75 years. Please provide basic requirements to the people,” the Court said. The Court said that providing land for the burial grounds in villages should be practically implemented and should not just remain on paper.