Kottayam: Orthodox Church mulls legal action against govt

Kottayam: The Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church may initiate legal action against the state government for its delay in implementing the Supreme Court order on its dispute with the Jacobite faction.

This move comes in the wake of the Supreme Court threatening to jail the chief secretary for ignoring its orders.

Catholicate Baselios Mar Thoma Paulose-II, supreme head of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, on Thursday hit out at the state government for its inaction on the order and said it was siding with the Jacobite faction.

“The state government remains insensitive to the court order and continues to support the Jacobite faction encouraging it to violate the rule of law over and again,” he told the media.

“For two years after the Supreme court order, the government has not acted and maintained that it was never a party in the case. This stand has fallen flat with the latest order,” he pointed out.

According to him, the apex court's order did not take away anyone's right to worship as it pertained only to the recovery of possession. All the promises given to the Church by this government during the previous elections were hollow. It took a U-turn on the Piravom church issue for reasons best known to it, he added.

Regarding the mediation initiated by the cabinet sub-committee, he held that the Church would be open to discussions only after implementing the present court order.

“We have never been against consensus as the majority of devotees in the opposing faction want to live in peace. There is, however, no question of any settlement on our right to the ownership over  the properties,” he asserted.