New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Jacobite Syrian Church to hand over the administration of six churches in Kerala to the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church faction.
The matter came up before a bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan. The bench said that the members of the Jacobite Syrian Church were in contempt for "wilfully disobeying" the 2017 judgment.
The bench directed the Jacobite faction to hand over the administration of three churches each in Ernakulam and Palakkad districts to the Malankara faction. The bench also asked the Jacobite faction to file a compliance affidavit. The bench made it clear that, "Failure to do so will result in initiation of contempt proceedings".
Regarding common amenities in churches such as burial grounds, schools, hospitals, etc, the bench asked the Malankara faction to ensure that the Jacobite faction enjoyed the amenities. The apex court has scheduled the matter for further hearing on December 17.
In the 2017 judgment, the apex court held that 1,100 parishes and their churches under the Malankara Church should be controlled by the Orthodox faction, in accordance with the 1934 Malankara Church guidelines. Jacobite church followers have been accused of preventing access to the Orthodox faction, despite orders from both the Kerala High Court and the apex court.
During the hearing on Tuesday, the apex court said that in 2017, it conclusively determined the issues and the only thing remaining was the implementation of the directions.
Senior advocate Shyam Divan, representing the Jacobite faction, contended that his clients had developed the churches and they maintained them, and the Malankara faction couldn't simply walk into the church and hand over the administration.
The bench told the counsel, “You are in contempt. You have to follow the directions issued in 2017. Now, it is not open for you to raise all these arguments."
The bench asked the Malankara faction to give an undertaking that it would allow the use of amenities to the Jacobite faction.
A battery of senior advocates, representing the Malankara Orthodox faction, vehemently argued that availing of such services should be in conformity with the 1934 Constitution.
On October 21, the High Court issued summons to state authorities, including the chief secretary and the state police chief, for non-compliance of the previous directive to take possession of six churches involved in the dispute.
