Crowhurst v. Amersham Burial Board Case Summary
Facts:
The case dealt with a controversy over the method of interment of Crowhurst. Crowhurst was sold an internment plot by the Amersham Burial Board without proper authority and, therefore, raised a question over whether such internment was valid.
Legal Issue:
This was the single point of argument, whether Amersham Burial Board could or not sell the burial plot and if the burial carried there was lawfully valid.
Legal principle:
The case involved and sanctioned the powers and duties of burial boards under the provisions of the Burial Act 1852, which governs the management and control of burial grounds, with special circumstances for selling burial plots.
Argument :
The court went to examine the powers granted to the Burial Board by the Act and concluded that sales for the burial plot were banned due to non-compliance with legal procedural procedure. All sales were not checked for proper documentation and legal authority to effect those sales by the Board. For this reason, the court concluded that a burial within an unauthorized plot lacks legal basis.
Judgment :
The court ruled for Crowhurst, on the grounds that the burial was null and void since it did not get full permission from the Burial Board. This particular case brought out the importance of following legal protocols in regulating burial sites. Here, unauthorized burials by a burial board were seen to result in the invalidation of burials
-Anushka Shekhawat
Manipal University, Jaipur
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