Expulsion from Knanaya Church for marriage outside community unconstitutional: Court

An Additional District Court in Kerala’s Kottayam district, based on an appeal against a civil court judgement, has held that endogamy within the Knanaya Catholic Community is not an essential religious practice and permanent expulsion of members or their family from the church for marrying outside the community is violative of Article 25 of the Indian Constitution. 

While delivering the judgement, Sanu S Panicker, Additional District Judge, said that he is of the view that endogamy is nothing but a marriage custom prevailing in the community and is not an essential religious practice for limiting membership of the Church. “I am of the view that it would not be justified in regulating the membership of the Church on the basis of the custom of endogamy prevailing in the community,” he said. 

The judgement was passed following an appeal filed by the Church before the Additional District Judge against the judgement of a district sub court which held that the practice of expelling members of the Knanaya Catholic Church for marrying outside the church is violative of the Right to Marry under Article 21 and the Right to Religion under Article 25 of the Indian Constitution. The sub court had also observed that compulsive endogamy was also violative of the Bible, Canon laws (regulations made by ecclesiastical authority for the government of a Christian organisation or church and its members) dealing with holy sacraments.

In the judgement that was pronounced by the Additional District Court on September 2, it was observed that since the sacrament of marriage between Knanaya Catholic and non-Knanaya Catholic is a divine one, it cannot be controlled by a custom or any other regulation by the Church as per CAN 1506(2) (Canon law. 

Courts have previously held that the Knanaya church has failed to establish the practice of endogamy as a custom or tradition having the force of law. The argument in favour of endogamy in the Church was made on the basis of CAN 1507 (Canon law) but the court held that CAN 1506 bars all customs that stand against divine law.

“A Catholic spouse of a Knanaya Catholic is entitled to get the religious status of her husband in his Church as per CAN 33 and also as per the dictum of law laid down by the apex court in Valsamma Paul V/s Cochin University and Others case,’’ read the judgement. According to CAN 33, a marriage with a non Knanaya Catholic is permissible to be solemnised in the church and there is no restriction for solemnising such marriages before the church under the canon law. 

CAN 33 prescribes the liberty of the spouse to transfer membership in Church to the Church of her husband in the celebration of or during the existence of marriage.

The Court, in its judgement, also observed that the Church has a legal obligation to perform a sacrament of marriage between a Knanaya Catholic and a Catholic from outside the diocese on the request of a Knanaya Catholic. “The children born to the said couple should also be admitted in the Church for their religious practices,” observed the court. 

A sect under the Syro Malabar Catholic Church, the Knanaya community trace their roots back to South Mesopotamia and it is said that the ancestors of the community members migrated to Kerala in AD 345.