This week a Hindu man won his legal battle at the Court of Appeal to be cremated according to his beliefs on a funeral pyre. A pyre, according to the Hindu faith, with access to the open air is essential to a good death and release of the spirit into the afterlife.
Initially Mr Ghai was refused permission by Newcastle City Council on planning and public health issues and lost his High Court challenge last year where the ruling judge determined that cremations must be within a building.
This was overturned on Appeal as Mr Ghai was willing for his pyre to be enclosed in a structure as long as the sunshine could fall on his body. It was decided that the Ministry of Justice's definition of a building was too narrow.