Cardinal Mar George Alancherry, Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church and head of the archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly, will have to face trial in the criminal cases booked against him in connection with a land scam, ordered the Kerala High Court.
Justice P. Somarajan, who dismissed the six appeals filed by the Cardinal and one by another accused in the case, against the trial court order, also asked the government to probe a settlement deed of 2007, about which the court harboured a “reasonable doubt” of manipulation. The settlement deed was Fr. Sebastian Vadakumpadan, the power of attorney-holder of the Religious Congregation of Brothers of the Roman Catholic community, Aluva. It is to be probed whether the title deed of a government property was manipulated, the court ordered.
The scam pertains to the sale of various holdings of the Syro-Malabar Church, allegedly flouting the by-laws of the Church and causing heavy financial losses to it and its parishioners.
‘Clear breach of trust’
The Cardinal committed a clear breach of trust in the execution of sale deeds. The unilateral and arbitrary execution of various sale deeds has rendered the stand of the Cardinal invalid and untenable, the court noted.
The criminal conspiracy between the Cardinal “in connivance with the cohorts and those who purchased the property further becomes more starkly evident from the fact that there is no semblance of any transparency in the alleged sales, though it pertains to the property of Church,” it was observed.
The sale deeds were executed without conducting a public auction or public sale with notice to all concerned, including the parishioners and those intending to purchase the property. It curtailed the right to derive maximum benefits for the Church. The deal was thus executed solely for the purpose of “giving the property to certain selected persons at a throwaway price capriciously and at the whims and fancies of the Cardinal,” the court noted.
₹3.99-crore land deal
Highlighting the criminal conspiracy in the land deal of ₹3.99 crore, the court found that the sale proceeds did not reach the Church on the date of execution and registration of the sale deed. It was later given in piecemeal manner when complaints were raised, the court noted.
