Urging the State Government to turn down the proposal to hold referendum in parishes under the Malankara Church, the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church has held that any attempt to implement this recommendation of the Law Reform Commission will have far-reaching consequences.
In a statement on Wednesday, Yuhanon Mar Dioscoros, synod secretary of the Orthodox Church, noted that the draft Bill submitted by commission chairman K.T. Thomas is unconstitutional and unethical as it seeks legislation against a decision of the Supreme Court.
“The apex court has stated in more than one occasion that the Malankara Church is a trust and that it should be governed in accordance with the 1934 constitution of the Malankara Church. No one can take over, transfer or divide the assets of the trust in the interest of the majority,” noted the Metropolitan.
The majority is not determined by a referendum in parishes, which are units of the trust. Instead, it should be in the Malankara Syrian Christian Association, which is the general assembly of this trust.
The Supreme Court has made it clear multiple times that the 1934 constitution does not need to be registered and there is no harm in not registering it, he added.
Rejected by SC
According to the Metropolitan, many of the provisions mentioned in the draft Bill had earlier been sought by the Jacobite faction in a clarification petition in 2019 and were subsequently rejected by the Supreme Court. The Bill drafted by the former judge, who had earlier represented the faction as a lawyer and made public statements in their favour, is biased.
He also called for implementation of the Supreme Court order to restore unity and peace in the Malankara Church. The legislation to surpass it would instead lead to more clashes and litigation, he said.
