'Allow Us To Confess Before A Priest Of Our Own Choice' : Five women From Jacobite Faction Of Malankara Church Moves Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Friday considered a petition filed by five women of Jacobite faction of Malankara Church seeking to allow confession before a priest of their own choice.

The writ petition titles "Beena Titty and others vs Union of India and another" was filed by five women arguing that that thrusting a compulsory practice on a believer was violative of the fundamental right to freedom of religion under Article 25 of the Constitution of India. Besides the Union of India, the petitioners have made the State of Kerala a respondent in the case.

When the case was taken up, CJI SA Bobde, the presiding judge of the bench, observed at the outset that the petitioners should approach the High Court first.

"How can we entertain this under Article 32? Why don't you approach Kerala HC?", CJI Bobde asked Rohatgi.

Rohatgi replied that the High Court cannot hear the matter as the issue comes under the questions referred by the SC to the 9-judge bench in the Sabarimala reference case.

At this juncture, the CJI sought the views of the Attorney General for India, KK Venugopal.

The AG submitted that the case is arising out of the disputes between the Jacobite-Orthodox factions in the Malankara church, which were authoritatively settled by a 3-judge bench of the Supreme Court in 2017.

"Kerala High Court knows the entire case history. The matter should go there", AG submitted.

In reply, Rohatgi submitted that the case involves important constitutional issues such as whether confession was an essential religious practice, whether right to privacy of a believer can be infringed by a priest under religious authority etc.

Rohatgi also argued that some priests, who are all men, were abusing the confessions made to them by women.

The CJI replied that such issues are dependent on the individual facts of each case. At this point, Rohatgi submitted that he will amend the petition to place of record additional facts.

In December, the CJI-led bench had issued notice on another petition which challenged the practice of mandatory sacramental confession in Malankara Orthodox Church. That petition was filed by two members of the church , Mathew Mathachan and CV Jose.

As per this religious practice, a member of the church has to undergo 'Sacramental Confession' before a priest. Such a practice, it was stated, was requisite to relieve oneself of his sin and was a condition precedent for fulfilling the temporal and spiritual needs of being a Christian. A person who does not undergo such a procedure would be denied the benefit of such services from the Church.

The petitioners contended that under the garb of some Rules, the Church is forcing the members to 'mandatorily confess' and 'mandatorily make payment of monies/ dues', failing which their names are struck off from their respective parishes

High Court rejected a similar plea in 2018

In 2018, the National Commission for Women had recommended the banning of confessions to prevent sexual exploitations of women. The recommendations came in the backdrop of a rape case against four priests of Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church who were accused of sexually exploiting a married woman after blackmailing her using her confessional statements.