HC ORDERS CBI PROBE INTO ILLEGAL SALE OF CHURCH LAND

THE Madurai bench of the Madras High Court has ordered the CBI to file a case against Church of South India Trust Association (CSITA), Church of South India (CSI) Madurai Ramnad Diocese, unnamed government officials, and private individuals to probe into the alleged illegal sale of 31.10 acres of government land worth crores of rupees at Tallakulam in the heart of Madurai city by these entities.

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Justice K K Ramakrishnan passed the order based on a PIL filed by D Devasahayam, president of Christian Minorities Unit. The PIL said that 31.10 acres of land at Tallakulam was provided by the government to American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) (later known as United Church Board for World Ministries) for the purpose of establishing an industrial home for needy women and to carry out farming and use the income generated through it for the welfare of the inmates of the home.