By Matters India Reporter
Kochi, Nov 10, 2022: The Kerala High Court has asked Cardinal George Alencherry, head of the Catholic Church in the southern Indian state, to appear before a court in connection with cases related to a land sale.
The top court in Kerala November 9 dismissed the cardinal’s plea seeking exemption from personal appearance before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Kakkanad, a suburb of Kochi. The prelate is facing seven criminal cases in connection with the sale of land belonging to the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese a few years ago.
The cardinal is accused of selling prime land belonged to the archdiocese fraudulently without consulting canonical bodies and other concerned authorities and incurring a loss to the tune of close I billion rupees.
The cardinal had denied the allegations and reportedly admitted having certain failures in overseeing the land deals and made no gains from them.
Cardinal Alencherry in his plea said that he “is a senior citizen aged 77 years and head of the Syro Malabar Church spread over whole world, having a membership of 55 lakhs (5.5 millon).”
The prelate further said, he is “bestowed with the duty of performing religious ceremonies, rituals, including ordination of bishops, priests, consecration of churches.”
Citing his busy schedules, the cardinal further said he had to render supervisory administrative functions over 35 dioceses out of which 4 are out of India and 18 are outside Kerala.
Apart from this, the cardinal added that he is also the head of the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council (KCBC) and he has to attend meetings as well as perform duties as its president and also the member of College of Cardinals and also has to attend meetings in Rome.
Against such a background, the prelate urged the court grant him exemption from appearance before the court and allow his counsel to deal with the cases in his place.
The single bench of Justice Ziyad Rahman A A, however, disagreed with Cardinal Alencherry’s argument and said, “Since he is a member of the College of Cardinals, he also has to participate in meetings in Rome. Thus it can be seen that he is admittedly attending meetings worldwide as part of administrative functions. This would indicate that he is not under any physical difficulty, which prevents him from appearing before the court at least on one occasion to take bail and execute the bond.”
“It is reported that the distance between the place of the residence of the petitioner and the court is just about 3 km. Therefore, under any circumstances, it cannot be concluded that there exists exceptional circumstances which prevent the petitioner from attending the court in person, at least for the first time and executing bonds,” the court asserted.
“Moreover, granting an exemption to the petitioner for the first appearance in this case would send a wrong message to society as well. According to the petitioner, he is a religious head required to carry out several functions in various capacities and seeks exemption on that ground,” observed the court.
“In my view, the position that he holds would not make him entitled to any special privileges when he is brought before a court of law as an accused. The statutory mandate is over and above all the superiority the accused possesses or claims to have, by virtue of his position. Irrespective of his position, he is just an accused before the court of law, who is not entitled to claim any special privilege and is required to face the proceedings just like any other citizen,” the court said in its 44-page order .
“The provisions of the law does not distinguish between ordinary citizens and persons holding superior positions in their religious, political, social, or other institutions,” the high court explained.
It further said, “If such a privilege is given to the accused, people will lose their confidence in the administration of justice.”
Meanwhile, the Catholic faithful of Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese on November 9 staged a torchlight protest in front of the Major Archbishop’s House in Kochi demanding his immediate resignation in view of the court order.
“Now with the High Court dismissing his appeal, it is certain that he will have to appear before the Judicial Magistrate’s court,” Shaijy Antony, one of the protestors, told Matters India on November 10.
The Catholic lay leader appealed Cardinal Alencherry to “resign from his office before appearing before the court.”
He also appealed the Syro-Malabar bishops to urge Cardinal Alencherry to step down from his office before appearing in the court to face prosecution in criminal cases.
Cardinal Alencherry, Antony added, “is an accused in 14 criminal cases including these seven. All related to land scam in the archdiocese.”.
Now it will have to be seen if Cardinal Alencherry will appeal against the High Court order or will submit himself before the Judicial Magistrate court and seek bail.
The Vatican has stripped off Cardinal Alencherry’s administrative powers as the archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese after the land scam came to limelight and appointed an apostolic administrator in June 2018.
Gandhiji spoke about seven crimes. One of them is “Pleasure without conscience”. Most “selfish” Cardinals, Arch/Bishops and Priests “bury their conscience” and lead a life giving priority to “I, My, Mine”. Cardinal Alencherry is one of them. When they strive only for selfish enjoyment of “power, position and money” where is the question of “resigning or stepping down” from their position? They are “curse” to the church.
14 criminal cases related to financial misappropriation. Anyone with a modicum of decency and humility would have resigned voluntarily, pending trial. What example is he giving to the people? TRAGIC.
In what capacity did Cardinal George Alencherry join Pope Francis during the recent Open-air Mass in Bahrain? He was seen smiling standing on the side of the altar. He could go to Bahrain but sought exemption from court appearance on grounds of age and myriad responsibilities, when he is just three kilometers away from the court!