'Last rites must be respected': HC junks plea to remove Afzal Guru's grave from Tihar; PIL cited 'glorification'

NEW DELHI: Delhi High Court on Wednesday dismissed a plea seeking the removal of graves of terrorists Mohammad Afzal Guru and Mohammad Maqbool Bhatt from Tihar Jail. The petitioners had argued that the graves could encourage glorification of terrorism.

A bench of chief justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and justice Tushar Rao Gedela said there is no law or rule that prohibits cremation or burial inside prison premises. The court allowed the petitioners to withdraw the public interest litigation (PIL) and refile it with relevant data, if needed.

The court also questioned why the petition was being filed 12 years after Bhatt’s execution. It also rejected claims that the graves created nuisance or health hazards for other inmates, noting that Tihar Jail is state-owned and not a public place.

“The government’s decision to allow burial in jail is considered law and order issues. Last rites must be respected, and no rule prevents cremation or burial inside prison premises,” the bench said.

What PIL said

The plea, filed by Vishwa Vedic Sanatan Sangh and Jitendra Singh, claimed that the graves of Guru and Bhatt turned Tihar Jail into a site of “radical pilgrimage,” where extremists could venerate the convicted terrorists. The petitioners argued that this undermines national security, public order, and the constitution. The petition argued that their graves should be relocated in a secure, undisclosed manner, as had been done in other cases like Ajmal Kasab and Yakub Memon.

Advocate Varun Kumar Sinha, representing the petitioners, cited media reports suggesting people were entering the jail to pay homage. The court, however, said a PIL cannot rely solely on newspaper reports and asked for concrete data showing such visits.

Guru, executed in 2013 for his role in the 2001 Parliament attack, and Bhatt, hanged in 1984 for abducting and killing an Indian diplomat in the UK, were both sentenced to death.

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