JODHPUR, Sept. 2 -- The Rajasthan high court has strongly spoken out against efforts to exclude a community from using a public burial and cremation grounds, holding that such exclusion from final rites violates fundamental rights. It also ordered the state to explain how post-death rituals are organised and regulated so that dignity in death is protected for all, a lawyer familiar with the case said. The division bench of Justice Dr Pushpendra Singh Bhati and Justice Bipin Gupta said: "The denial of access to the cremation/burial ground to the petitioner community strikes at the very core of the constitutional promise." The court has directed Additional Advocate General, BL. Bhati, to file an affidavit stating the state's position on organising and regulating post-death rituals and whether a common, non-discriminatory approach can be devised without causing social disharmony. The petition was filed by the Kanchan Patil (Mirasi) Samaj - a community concentrated in western Rajasthan districts including Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Barmer,- which says it has been repeatedly prevented from performing burials on a public plot long used for that purpose. The Samaj told the court that the land is vested in the state for common use and has never been formally granted to any private society, trust or Wakf Board. The judges underlined that public land earmarked for last rites must remain accessible to all citizens and cannot be appropriated for the exclusive use of any caste, community or sect. The matter has been listed for further hearing in two weeks....