New Delhi, November 19 (IANS). In the last week of October, the Madras High Court, while commenting on churches across the country, had said that church properties should be governed by a statutory body similar to the Waqf Board. People from Council of Churches in India (NCCI) and Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) have expressed concern over this comment of Madras High Court. CPI(M) leader D Raja has reacted to this.
Speaking to IANS, he said, “The Madras High Court’s observations regarding property management and maintenance of churches and institutions should be studied in depth. Also, it has to be seen whether this comment is justified from the constitutional point of view or whether it is trying to open a new avenue of discussion and debate. We have to consider all these aspects. Therefore, I think the comments of the Madras High Court should be examined in detail and seriously. Only after this can one give his views on this. It is very important to understand in what context the Madras Court has made this comment. It must be studied in depth to properly understand its context. After this we will also have to see what is the reaction of the Christian community and their institutions on this.”
He further said, “It is also important to know how these observations relate to Christian institutions and under what law these institutions operate. There are many aspects which need to be studied thoroughly. Therefore the observations of the Madras Court should be studied in depth and detail.”
Let us tell you that in this case the court said, “Whereas the endowments of religion of Hindus and Muslims are subject to statutory rules. The only monitoring over the affairs of these institutions is through litigation under Section 92 of the Code of Civil Procedure. There should be a statutory board to regulate matters to make the institutions more accountable.”
After this, the court has also made the Home Ministry and Tamil Nadu Government as parties in this case.
–IANS
PSM/GKT
