PRAYAGRAJ, Oct. 14 -- The right to freedom of religion, including performing last rites according to religious beliefs, does not guarantee a community the allotment of a specific plot of land belonging to a local body for a cemetery, the Allahabad high court has ruled while dismissing a Christian body's plea for a burial ground in Ghaziabad.

A division bench of Justice JJ Munir and Justice Indrajeet Shukla made the observation while dismissing a petition filed by the Christian Community Welfare Society challenging the rejection of its request to convert barren land in Ghaziabad into a Christian cemetery.

In its October 12 judgment, the court held that converting land entrusted to a Gaon Sabha or local body into public utility land for a...