Relief for Jacobite faction; apex court sets aside HC ruling on possession of six churches

IN A MAJOR relief for the Jacobite Syrian Church, the Supreme Court on Thursday set aside the order of the Kerala High Court directing the state government to take possession of six churches of the faction and hand them over to the Malankara Orthodox Church.

- EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @Kochi

The bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh directed the division bench of the HC to take a fresh look at the contempt petitions in light of certain concerns that had been highlighted in Thursday's order.

The SC was hearing petitions filed against the HC order asking officials to take over administration of three churches each in Ernakulam and Palakkad districts.

Some of the issues highlighted in the SC order include the legal impact of the Kerala Right to Burial of Corpse in Christian (Malankara Orthodox-Jacobite) Cemeteries Act, 2020, on pending contempt petitions, should the HC in a dispute relating to religious affairs direct the civil administration to take over the religious places; and, to what extent such an intervention is desirable in public interest, and about police officers taking over religious places.

According to Mor Theophilos Kuriakose, chairman of the Jacobite Media Cell, the points raised by the SC have indeed come as a relief. "The Orthodox faction had challenged the validity of the Cemeteries Bill in the HC. But the SC order strengthens it," he added.