Kochi: The Kerala High Court on July 8 stayed a government order (GO) entrusting local bodies with the power to grant clearance for construction of religious places of worship.
Justice N. Nagaresh passed the interim order on a writ petition filed by Fr. Joy Pulikkottil, vicar, St. Peter’s and St. Paul’s Syrian Orthodox Church, Chalissery, Palakkad, challenging the government order.
According to the petitioner, as per the Manual of Guidelines to Prevent and Control Disturbances and to Promote Communal Harmony, 2005, prior approval and clearance of the District Collector was necessary for the construction of religious places (churches, mosques, temples and so on). However, through an amendment brought in 2021 to the manual, permission of the local body (panchayat or municipality) alone was made necessary.
The judge observed that the construction of religious places of worship had often been causing communal tensions and law-and-order situations. The earlier order shows that the clearance to be given by the district administration should be based on intelligence input received by it. The gathering of intelligence or information was important in granting such clearance. The guideline stated that any construction of a religious place should be made only with prior approval of the district authorities and at the earmarked place.
Sovereign function
The court pointed out that Article 243 G of the Constitution of India governs the powers, authority and responsibilities of Panchayats and Schedule 11 of the Constitution of India covered topics to be entrusted to the panchayat institutions. The gathering of intelligence information and policing were not included in Schedule 11. Section 174 of the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act empowered the State government to delegate any of its functions to the panchayat institutions. However, in the light of Article 243 G and Schedule 11 of the Constitution of India and even otherwise, whether the State government could delegate essential sovereign functions like the gathering of intelligence information to the panchayat institutions was an important issue arising in the petition. Therefore the issues were important and were to be looked into and heard in detail.
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/construction-of-places-of-worship-hc-stays-go/article35215756.ece