Panaji: The Bombay high court on Monday ordered the director of panchayats to file an affidavit explaining steps taken by it pursuant to its communication of 2016 where it directed all panchayats to make arrangements for kabrastan for the Muslim community.The HC also directed the commissioner of the Corporation of City of Panaji (CCP) to file an affidavit explaining the circumstances under which the CCP passed a resolution in Dec last year not to permit burials at St Inez for those from outside the jurisdiction of Panaji and Taleigao. The HC also called on CCP to share data on the number of burials at St Inez.The director of panchayats on Jan 14, 2016, had issued a memorandum to all block development officers directing them to inform concerned panchayats under their jurisdiction to make suitable arrangements if not already done for a kabrastan for the Muslim community.On Dec 2 , 2025 the CCP passed a resolution to prohibit burials of persons residing outside its jurisdiction.The HC is hearing a petition over lack of kabrastan for burial of Muslims from villages of St Cruz, , Curca, Merces and Bambolim. The petition states that for the entire taluka of Tiswadi there are only three kabrastans– St Inez, Chimbel and Goa Velha– of which the Chimbel and Goa Velha are under the control of private societies that allow burials of only their members.The petitioner, a Muslim trust represented by advocate Yogesh Nadkarni, told the court that a family faced difficulty in finding a burial place for an 80-year-old woman and eventually buried her at a private kabrastan in Vasco.
