KOTTAYAM: In a move to end the decades-old dispute between the Orthodox and Jacobite factions of the Malankara Church, the Kerala State Law Reforms Commission headed by former Supreme Court judge K T Thomas has proposed a referendum to determine the majority of the faithful in a parish for claiming ownership of its church. The commission submitted the draft bill to the government on Wednesday.
“To determine the majority, a referendum needs to be carried out. Provisions also have been made to protect the ownership rights and beliefs of the churches,” Justice K T Thomas told TNIE.
According to him, a three-member authority headed by a retired SC/HC judge has to oversee the referendum.
“The authority will also have a member each from the Jacobite and the Orthodox factions. If the Churches do not nominate a member to the authority, then the state government can do the nomination,” he said.
No believer should be evicted from church until referendum is over: Panel
Justice Thomas said the decisions taken by the authority would apply to both factions.
“If a dispute arises about the ownership of a church, then the parishioners can submit a letter to the district magistrate citing they are in the majority. The draft stipulates the magistrate has to conduct an initial investigation into the matter and then hand it over to the authority for the referendum,” said Justice Thomas.
As per the draft bill, until the referendum is over, none is to be evicted from the church.“When it comes to the ownership of a church, the 1934 constitution has no standing since it has not been registered. This has been made clear even in the 2017 Supreme Court judgment. The churches are to be governed by the 1934 constitution as stated in the SC judgment,” he said.
Justice Thomas said the bill, if made into an ordinance, will go a long way in ending the feud. “However, that is now the government’s prerogative. We send a lot of draft bills to the government and they select some of them. One such was the cemetery bill, which played a big role in defusing some amount of tension,” said Justice Thomas. The government last year had passed Kerala Christian Cemeteries (Right to Burial of Corpse) 2020 Ordinance, to put an end to the burial issues of laity belonging to the Orthodox and Jacobite factions.
What the bill entails
Referendum has to be overseen by a 3-member authority The authority should comprise a retired SC/HC judge and a representative each of Jacobite and Orthodox factions
A challenge to Constitution: Orthodox faction
Kottayam: The Malankara Orthodox Church working committee called the Kerala Law Reforms Commission’s draft bill a challenge to the Indian Constitution and the judiciary. “The move, which is being made by violating the rules of this great nation and the essence of the Supreme Court ruling, has been made solely for political gains,” said the working committee. The move has been made to divide the Church for selfish gains, the committee said. “The Church will use legal and democratic means to block the move. Legislators who had said no law can be enacted against the apex court ruling, shouldn’t stand with such an action,” it said.