HC directs collector to hand over Mulanthuruthy church to Orthodox group

KOCHI:  A division bench of the High Court on Friday directed the Ernakulam district collector to hand over the key of Mulanthuruthy Marthoman Church to the Orthodox faction within two weeks.The bench comprising Justice A M Shaffique and Justice P Gopinath also directed the police to provide necessary protection to ensure that no law and order situation or obstruction is created by the Jacobite faction during the transition period or subsequent days.

The Bench passed the order on an appeal filed by the state government against a single judge’s directive to take possession of the church and hand it over to the Orthodox faction vicar.  The single judge had also sought the views of the Assistant Solicitor General of India on deployment of Central forces to assist the district collector in taking over the church as the state police were busy engaged in Covid-19-related works. In its appeal, the state government said the single judge had erred in directing the collector and the police to do an impossible act amid the spread of Covid-19.  

If the single judge’s orders were implemented at a time when Covid-19 cases were at its peak, members of both factions would come out in large numbers, accentuating the spread of the pandemic. Besides, the district administration would not be able to deploy sufficient number of police force as the police were already involved in Covid-19 control activities. If the court insisted on implementation of the order, it was likely to led to a super spread of the pandemic as occurred in the case of Mullaringadu in Idukki district. The state government stated that the court orders with regard to many churches had been implemented.
However, the division bench upheld the single judge’s order.