This judicial review of the Cremation Act is taking place because it has been misleadingly represented in that this concerns over "one million" Hindus and Sikhs. That it is a religious duty of the Hindus, and a traditional (religio-cultural) need of the Sikh to burn their dead on piles of wood in open air.

It is an undisputed fact that there is no compulsion whatsoever within the Sikh faith, either doctrinal, historical or practical that perceives open air cremation as preferable to one carried out in a enclosed space.

About disposing of the dead body, the Sikh Reht Maryada (Sikh Code of Conduct) is clear. To quote: Article XIX : Funeral Ceremonies: (c) However young the deceased may be, the body should be cremated. However, where arrangements for cremation cannot be made, there should be no qualm about the body being immersed in flowing water or disposed of in any other manner.”

We the undersigned Sikhs who follow the universal Sikh Reht Maryada are keen to have the Sikh communities position recorded accurately and therefore oppose the linking of our faith with support for the Claimant’s pleading. Also, that as a community we feel well served by the existing designated indoor crematoria in the United Kingdom