In praise of … the art of compromise

Davender Ghai of Newcastle believes that a traditional Hindu funeral pyre, built of wood and open to the sky, is essential when he dies. Newcastle city council, charged with providing legal cremations in the area, had refused him the permit he seeks. In the council's view the law requires a cremation to take place within the kind of solidly Anglo-Saxon building provided at its West Road crematorium . When Mr Ghai's irresistible beliefs first met Newcastle's immovable objections four years ago, the decision went against him. Last year, the high court dismissed his challenge. The stage seemed set for Mr Ghai to eventually defy the law with an open air pyre on some remote Northumbrian site. Yesterday, however, the court of appeal ( which had a busy day – see above) came up with an ingenious ruling . Why not, Lord Neuberger suggested, offer a Hindu cremation within a suitably adapted building? If the site of the wooden pyre was surrounded by walls, with a roof that could be opened to the sky, then Mr Ghai's requirement for the sunlight to fall on his body (not always easy on Tyneside) might be satisfied within the meaning of the 1902 act. Mr Ghai is delighted; Newcastle less so. Other local authorities will have to face the cost implications too. The rest of us should take our hats off to the judges. Not only did they avoid creating a confrontation on a sensitive multicultural issue, they also crafted a practical and sensible solution. The art of ­British compromise is alive and well. Good judgment all round.