KOCHI: The High Court has observed that the Kerala government was taking a one-sided stand in the Kothamangalam church case. The court, which came down heavily on the state for not complying with its directive to take over the church, its precincts and all movable properties, and hand them over to the vicar of the Orthodox faction, cautioned the government that it would be forced to deploy central forces to implement the order.
The court orally observed that the government had obtained more time for implementing the directive last time citing the Covid situation and it cannot be allowed to persist with such a stand.Justice P B Sureshkumar made the observation while considering the contempt case against the Ernakulam district collector for not implementing the order. The court will consider the case on Tuesday.
The court orally observed that if the state government is unable to implement the directive, it would have to direct the Centre to provide the forces under its control to enforce the order. The court directed the Union government to inform about its stance on the deployment of the central forces.
Church handover a sensitive issue: Kerala government
State Attorney KV Sohan submitted that the collector could not proceed with the takeover of the church as the police force has been put on election duty and Sabarimala duty. Besides, the issue is sensitive.The government, therefore, sought more time to implement the directives.
The state government had submitted last time that in the event of a forcible takeover of the church and its property, the public, including women, children and elder people driven by religious fervour, would gather in front of the church, leading to breach of social distancing norms and super spread of the virus. The government had earlier obtained more time citing that the church was in a containment zone.
‘GOVT ONE-SIDED’
The High Court observes that the Kerala government is taking a one-sided stand in the Kothamangalam church case
The court orally observes that the govt cannot be allowed to persist with such a stand