An Old Video of Kothamangalam Pally Perunnal

 

High Court sharply criticizes Govt over Kothamangalam church dispute

The High Court of Kerala has sharply criticized the state government in connection with the Kothamangalam Marthoman church dispute.

While considering the contempt of court petition filed by the Orthodox Church, the court said that the government is taking a biased stand and that is not right.

 Meanwhile, the government of Kerala argued that the currently available police force is insufficient to take over the Marthoman church and hand it over as they are busy with Sabarimala pilgrimage season and election duties.

 The Kerala government asked for more time to implement the court verdict. But the Kerala High Court said that this was already delayed in the name of COVID outbreak and if the implementation of the court verdict is further delayed, central forces will be called.

 The additional solicitor general has been instructed to appear before the High court on Tuesday to make the government's stand clear. The court will consider the case again on Tuesday.

 Earlier, the High Court division bench had rejected the appeal filed by the Kerala state government against taking over Kothamangalam Cheriyapally and handing it over to Orthodox Church. The High court of Kerala had also made it clear that it was the state government's responsibility to implement the verdict.

Kothamangalam Church Case: Division Bench Dismisses State Government's Plea

The Bench of the High Court dismissed an appeal by the state government against the acquisition of the Kochi-Kothamangalam church and handing it over to the Orthodox Church.  The High Court said that it is the responsibility of the state government to enforce the court order.  The court asked the district administration to take steps to hand over the mosque to the Orthodox church.


Courts have the power to dictate how a court order should be executed.  The Kothamangalam Church should be governed by the 1934 constitution.  The court also rejected the High Court's decision to acquire the mosque, contrary to the Supreme Court ruling.


The government's stand against the implementation of the court verdict has hit the court today. It is the responsibility of the state governments to enforce the court verdict.  There is no justification for the argument that the verdict cannot be enforced because people are protesting.


The court said that the government's argument that the court had no jurisdiction to decide how the verdict should be executed had no merit. The court held that the Jacobite Church's claim that the Orthodox Vicar was ineligible for administration was not valid.