Devout Hindu Loses Cremation Bid

May 8, 2009

Author: Staff Writer

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/tyne/8039630.stm

A bid by a devout Hindu for the legal right to be cremated on a traditional open-air funeral pyre has been rejected by the High Court in London.

Davender Ghai, 70, was seeking to overturn a decision by Newcastle City Council in 2006 preventing funeral pyres from being held.

The council has said the traditional religious practice is impractical.

On Friday, Mr Justice Cranston ruled that pyres were prohibited by law, and the prohibition was "justified".