The Surat Parsi Panchayat Board vs Union of India
Background
The Surat Parsi Panchayat Board approached the Gujarat High Court seeking permission to perform "Dokhmenashini", traditional Zoroastrian funeral rites at the community's Towers of Silence, for members who died of COVID-19, arguing that the Union Government's March 2020 pandemic protocols for handling dead bodies were incompatible with Zoroastrian religious practice. The High Court dismissed the petition, and the Board appealed to the Supreme Court.
Decision Breakdown
During the hearings, the Supreme Court facilitated a dialogue between the Parsi community's representatives (led by senior counsel Fali S. Nariman) and the Solicitor General representing the Union Government, balancing the community's Article 25 religious rights against the government's legitimate public-health concerns during the pandemic. The parties jointly worked out and placed before the Court a detailed "Agreed Protocol and Standard Operating Procedure", covering matters such as PPE-clad professional corpse-bearers, a minimum 10-foot distance for relatives, a dedicated Dokhma reserved only for COVID-19 victims, and disinfection after each ceremony: that honored the essential religious rites while meeting COVID-19 safety norms. The Court set aside the High Court's judgment, accepted the agreed protocol as the operative arrangement, and disposed of the appeal on those consensual terms.
Lesson Learnt
Constitutional disputes pitting religious freedom against public health regulation need not always end in a winner-take-all judicial ruling. Courts can, and often should, encourage negotiated, mutually workable solutions that respect both religious tenets and legitimate government safety concerns.