Chapter XXI DISPOSAL OF THE DEAD

Registration of places for disposal of the dead:

1. (1) Every owner or person having the control of any place already used for burying, burning or otherwise disposing of the dead, but which is not vested in, or owned by, the Municipality or any board appointed by the State Government for administration of such place, shall apply to the Board of Councillors within a period of three months from the commencement of this Act to register the name of such place and the Board of Councillors shall cause the same to be registered.
2. (2) Such application shall be accompanied by a plan of the place to be registered, showing the locality, boundaries and extent of the same, and shall bear the signature of a responsible officer of the concerned Department of the State Government or other recognised authority in token of its having been prepared by or under the supervision of such officer. The application shall also contain information as regards the name of the owner or the person or the community interested therein, the system of management and such further particulars as the Board of Councillors may require.
3. (3) The Board of Councillors may, on receipt of such application and plan, register the name of the place as aforesaid in a register which shall be maintained for such registration.
4. (4) If the Board of Councillors is not satisfied with the plan or the information or the other particulars referred to in sub-section (2), it may refuse or postpone registration until such plan or information or other particulars are furnished to its satisfaction.
5. (5) Every place vesting in the Municipality or a board appointed by the State Government for administration of any place used for burying, burning or otherwise disposing of the dead shall be registered in the register maintained under sub-section (3) and shall be classified as a public or private, and a plan showing the locality, extent and boundaries thereof and bearing the signature of an officer authorised by the Board of Councillors in this behalf shall be deposited in the office of the Municipality.

Provision for, and registration of, new places for disposal of the dead:

1. (1) If any existing place for the disposal of the dead appears, at any time, to be insufficient, the Board of Councillors shall, with the sanction of the State Government, provide other fit and convenient place, either within or outside the municipal area, for the said purpose, and shall cause the same to be registered under the provisions of this Chapter.
2. (2) All the provisions of this Act or the rules or the regulations made thereunder shall apply to any place provided under sub-section (1) outside the municipal area and vesting in the Municipality, as if such place were situated within the municipal area.

Permission for opening new place for disposal of the dead or reopening of place:

1. (1) No place, which has not previously been lawfully used or registered as a place for the disposal of the dead, shall be opened by any person for the said purpose without the written permission of the Board of Councillors who, with the approval of the State Government, may grant or withhold such permission.
2. (2) Such permission may be subject to such conditions as the Board of Councillors may think fit to impose for the purpose of preventing any annoyance to, or danger to the health of, any person residing in the neighbourhood.
3. (3) No place for the disposal of the dead, which has fallen into disuse, shall be used again as such.

Power to require closing of burning and burial grounds:

1. (1) Where the Board of Councillors, after making, or causing to be made, any local enquiry, is of opinion that any burning or burial ground or other place for the disposal of the dead has become offensive to, or dangerous to the health of, person residing in the neighbourhood or for any other reasons to be recorded in writing, it may, with the previous approval of State Government and by notice in writing, require the owner or the person in charge of such ground or place to close the same from such date as may be specified in the notice.
2. (2) No corpse shall be burnt or buried or otherwise disposal of at the burning or burial ground or place in respect of which a notice has been issued under this section.

Power of Board of Councillors to reopen closed places for the disposal of the dead: If, any time after inspection, the Board of Councillors is of opinion that any place formerly used for the disposal of the dead, which has been closed under the provisions of this Chapter or under any other law or authority, has by lapse of time, become no longer injurious to health and may, without inconvenience or risk of danger, be again used for the said purpose, it may direct that such place may be reopened for the disposal of the dead.

Prohibition regarding burials within places of worship and exhumation:

1. (1) No person shall, without the written permission of the Board of Councillors under sub-section (2),-
   • (a) make any vault or grave or interment within any wall, or underneath any passage, porch, portico, plinth or verandah, of any place of worship;
   • (b) make any interment or otherwise dispose of any corpse in any place which is closed under the provisions of this Chapter;
   • (c) build or dig, or cause to be built or dug, any grave or vault, or in any way dispose of: or suffer or permit to be disposed of, any corpse at any place which is not registered under this Chapter;
   • (d) exhume any body from any place for the disposal of the dead except under the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 or 1974), or any other law for the time being in force.
2. (2) The Board of Councillors may, in special cases, grant permission for any of the purposes as aforesaid, subject to such general or special orders as the State Government may, from time to time, make in this behalf.
3. (3) Any contravention of the provisions of sub-section (1) shall be deemed to be a cognizable offence within the meaning of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

Acts prohibited in connection with disposal of dead: No person shall-

1. (a) retain a corpse on any premises without burning, burying or otherwise lawfully disposing of the same for so long a time after death as to create a nuisance: Provided that after the expiration of not less than twenty-four hours from the death of any person, the Board of Councillors may, with the assistance of the police, if necessary, cause the corpse of such person to be burnt or buried. In every such case the corpse shall be disposed of: so far as may be possible, in a manner consistent with the religious tenets, if any, of the deceased: Provided further that the Board of Councillors may charge from the person or persons responsible for the disposal of the dead body such fees as may be determined by regulations;
2. (b) carry a corpse or a part of a corpse along any street without having the same decently covered or without taking such precautions to prevent risk of infection or injury to the community health as the Board of Councillors may, by public notice from time to time, require;
3. (c) carry a corpse or part of a corpse along any street along which the carrying of corpse is prohibited by a public notice issued by the Board of Councillors in this behalf: except when no other route is available;
4. (d) remove a corpse or a part of a corpse, which has been kept or used for purpose of dissection, otherwise than in a closed receptacle or vehicle;
5. (e) carry a corpse or part of a corpse along any street without urgent necessity;
6. (f) bury or cause to be buried any corpse or part of a corpse in a grave or vault or otherwise in such manner as may cause the surface of the coffin or, when no coffin is used, of the corpse or part of the corpse to be at a depth of less than four feet from the surface of the ground;
7. (g) build or dig, or cause to be built or dug, any grave or vault in any burial ground at a distance of less than one half of a metre from the margin of any other grave or vault;
8. (h) build or dig, or cause to be built or dug, a grave or vault in any burial ground in any line not marked out for such purpose by or under the order of the Board of Councillors;
   • (i) reopen, for the interment of a corpse or of any part of a corpse, a grave or vault already occupied without the written permission of the Board of Councillors.

Disposal of dead animals:

1. (1) Whenever any animal in charge of any person dies, the person in charge thereof shall, within twenty-four hours, either-
   • (a) convey the carcass to a place provided or appointed under this Act for the final disposal of carcasses of dead animals, or
   • (b) give notice of the death to the Chairman where upon he shall cause the carcass to be disposed of.
2. (2) The Board of Councillors may charge such fees as may be determined by regulations for the disposal of the carcass of a dead animal under clause (b) of sub-section (1).