Dispute over burial rights does fall under Public Interest Litigation. (Image is generated using AI)

Holding that a dispute between two communities over burial space does not fall under the ambit of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), the Uttarakhand High Court recently dismissed a plea filed by a man seeking burial rights and access to kabristan (burial ground for muslims) in the state’s Bhaniyawala village.

Observing that such community-specific disputes must be resolved through civil proceedings, Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta rejected the plea, which alleged that members of the Deobandi community were preventing the Barelvi community from using the kabristan.

“The right of burial being claimed by members of a particular community of Muslim as against the other community… would not be a matter falling under Public Interest Litigation…it is open to the petitioner and members of the said community to establish the said right in appropriate civil proceedings or by such other mode as may be advised,” the April…