Kochi, August 13, 2020: The Kerala High Court has directed the Ernakulam district collector to keep the Mulanthuruthy church locked.
The order came on an appeal filed by the state government against a single judge’s directive asking the collector to take possession of the church and hand over it to the Orthodox faction vicar.
The single judge had also sought the views of the Assistant Solicitor General of India on deploying Central forces to assist the collector as the state police was busy with Covid-related works.
During the hearing, the state attorney submitted that the district administration will take police assistance to lock the church and had offered to hand over the keys to the court. However, the court said the lock and keys be kept in the collector’s custody for the time being.
In its appeal, the government said the single judge erred in directing the collector and the police to perform an impossible act during the spread of Covid-19. If the orders were implemented when Covid cases were at its peak, both Jacobite and Orthodox faction leaders would come out in large numbers, accentuating the spread of the pandemic, it said.
If the court insisted on the implementation of the orders, it would likely lead to a super spread of the pandemic.
“Court orders with respect to several churches had been implemented and the government was ready to implement the single judge’s directives without giving any opportunity to create a law and order situation,” the government said, urging that the implementation of the single judge’s directive be deferred for three months
The bench kept in abeyance the single judge’s orders that were passed on a contempt of court petition filed by the Orthodox faction vicar.
https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/kochi/2020/aug/13/kerala-hc-asks-collector-to-lock-mulanthuruthy-church-2182689.html