Kochi: The Kerala High Court has decided to take legal action against the government for its failure to take over disputed churches. Chief Secretary, Collectors, police officials, and the church trustees must appear in court to face charges. A notice has been sent instructing them to appear on November 8.
The trustees of six churches, including the head of the Sreshta Bava, must also attend. In the dispute between the Orthodox and Jacobite churches, the court had directed the Collectors in Ernakulam and Palakkad districts to take over six churches, but the order was not implemented.
The government maintains that there is strong opposition from the Jacobite faction and that it is not possible to execute the takeover. The court had directed that the churches be taken over and handed over to the Orthodox faction.
The High Court’s single bench had issued the order to the police to take over the six churches in Palakkad and Ernakulam districts and hand them over to the Orthodox Church. The churches to be taken over included Pulinthanam, Oodakali, Mazhavanur, Cherukunnam, Mangalamdam, and Erukkinchira. However, the government later withdrew the action citing law and order concerns.
