Hindu man takes open-air cremation battle to appeal court

A Hindu man has gone to the court of appeal as part of his ongoing fight to have open-air cremations in the UK. Davender Ghai, 71, from Tyneside, wants the right to burn funeral pyres in accordance with his religious and cultural beliefs.

His court appearance, before some of the country's most senior judges, is the latest development in a three-year battle to overturn a decision by Newcastle city council, which denied him a licence for a pyre because it was unlawful under the 1930 Cremation Act.

Last May he went to the high court, which upheld the local authority ruling and said pyres were prohibited by law and the prohibition was justified.



The justice secretary, Jack Straw, intervened in the case, contending that the legislation prohibited an open pyre funeral, that it was not incompatible with Ghai's human rights and that the decision was justified on the grounds of public health, public safety, public health and public morals.

Straw's remarks prompted an angry response from the Hindu Forum of Britain: "To suggest a practice which has been carried out for thousands of years and still is by 800 million Hindus in India is somehow 'abhorrent' is insensitive and very unhelpful. No one, including Baba Ghai, has ever suggested doing outdoor cremations in public."

Despite the legal setback, Ghai was optimistic about his chances, not least, he said, because the justice secretary's comments had angered so many people. "He should not have said those things about our tradition and culture. We gained a lot of support after that. I'm very positive I can win this. The only way I will give up is if I die." The hearing is expected to last three days.