Kerala Church Dispute: Supreme Court Dismisses Writ Petition Filed Against High Court Direction Handing Over Mulanthuruthy Church to Orthodox Group [Read Order]

In the latest development in the feud between Jacobite and Malankara Orthodox factions in Kerala, the Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a writ petition which was filed against the order of the High Court of Kerala directing the handing over of Mulanthuruthy Marthoman Church to Orthodox faction.

The petition was filed by Santhosh Mathai and Roy Thomas, two persons belonging to the Jacobite group, contending that the directions issued by the High Court on May 18 to the Ernakulam District Collector to hand over the keys of the Church to the Orthodox faction infringed the fundamental right to religion and conscience under Article 25 of the Constitution.

A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan asked the petitioner's lawyer, Advocate Mathews Nedumpara, how a writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution of India was maintainable against a judicial order.

The bench termed the writ petition "misconceived" and proceeded to dismiss it.

The handing over of the 800-year old church to the Orthodox faction was directed in furtherance of the Supreme Court judgment delivered in July 2017 in the case K.S. Varghese & Ors. V. Saint Peter's and Saint Paul's Syrian Orthodox Church, which settled the century-long dispute between Jacobite and Malankara Orthodox factions.

In the K S Varghese case, the Supreme Court had upheld the validity of the 1934 constitution of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church to govern the parishes under the Church. Although the court verdict came on dispute over the ownership of two churches, it impacted over 1000-odd churches.

Following the SC verdict, several churches under dispute have already been handed over to the Orthodox group despite stiff resistance from the bishops and laymen from the Jacobite Church.

Last year, a bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra had held that no court should pass any order to reopen the issues settled in the K S Varghese judgment. In June 2020, a bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra dismissed another petition which sought clarifications on the 2017 judgment.

In August, the district administration had forcibly taken control of the Mulnathuruthy church in execution of the High Court directions in the face of strong protests from the Jacobite group. The administration was forced to act after the High Court stood stern on its directions and directed the filing of an action taken report.

Click here to download the order