SURAT PARSI PANCHAYAT BOARD Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted.

(2.) This appeal arises from a judgment and order dated 23 July 2021 of a Division Bench of the High Court of Gujarat.

(3.) A petition under Article 226 of the Constitution was instituted before the High Court by the Surat Parsi Panchayat Board seeking, among other things, directions to allow the performance of Dokhmenashini or funeral rights in the Dokhmas belonging to the Parsi Zoroastrian community. The basis of the grievance was that the protocols which were notified on 15 March 2020 by the Union Government during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic setting out modalities for the disposal of dead bodies do not comport with the tenets of the Zoroastrian faith. The High Court dismissed the petition.