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| Hindu wins fight for funeral pyre | |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| A devout Hindu has won his bid for the right to be cremated on a traditional funeral pyre. | |
| Davender Ghai, 71, was seeking to overturn a 2006 Newcastle City Council decision forbidding him from being cremated according to his beliefs. | Davender Ghai, 71, was seeking to overturn a 2006 Newcastle City Council decision forbidding him from being cremated according to his beliefs. |
| Last year his challenge was dismissed by the High Court, but that ruling has been overturned at the Court of Appeal. | Last year his challenge was dismissed by the High Court, but that ruling has been overturned at the Court of Appeal. |
| Judges ruled the pyre would be lawful after Mr Ghai said it could include walls and a roof with an opening. | Judges ruled the pyre would be lawful after Mr Ghai said it could include walls and a roof with an opening. |
| In February 2006, the founder of the Anglo-Asian Friendship Society (AAFS), from Gosforth, Newcastle, was refused a permit for a cremation site in a remote part of Northumberland. | |
| Newcastle City Council said the burning of human remains anywhere outside a crematorium was prohibited under the 1902 Cremation Act. | Newcastle City Council said the burning of human remains anywhere outside a crematorium was prohibited under the 1902 Cremation Act. |
| Today's verdict has breathed new life into an old man's dreams Davender Ghai | |
| The Ministry of Justice, which opposed the appeal case, had backed the local authority's decision. | The Ministry of Justice, which opposed the appeal case, had backed the local authority's decision. |
| Mr Ghai said the Court of Appeal verdict had "breathed new life into an old man's dreams". | |
| He said: "I always maintained that I wanted to clarify the law, not disobey or disrespect it. | |
| "The Court of Appeal understood my request was consistent with both the spirit and letter of the law and my only regret is that tax payers' money would have been saved had that been recognised in 2006. | |
| "My request was often misinterpreted, leading many to believe I wanted a funeral pyre cremation in an open field, whereas I always accepted that buildings and permanent structures would be appropriate." |