Kerala HC orders Chief Secretary, State Police Chief, Collectors to appear in contempt cases

They have been asked to appear before court on November 8 for framing of contempt of court charges for not complying with the court directive to take possession of six churches under the control of the Jacobite faction

The Kerala High Court on Monday ordered the Chief Secretary, State Police Chief, and the District Collectors of Ernakulam and Palakkad to appear in person before it on November 8 for framing of contempt of court charges against them for not complying with the court directive to take possession of six churches under the control of Jacobite faction.

Justice V.G. Arun passed the order when the contempt of court petitions filed by vicars of the Orthodox faction came up for hearing. The court observed that “as charges have to be framed, respondents shall personally be present before the court on November 8, 2024”.

State’s contention

A Division Bench had last week Thursday upheld Justice Arun’s order directing the Ernakulam and Palakkad Collectors to take possession of the churches. The Bench gave the order while dismissing the appeals filed by the State government and Jacobite faction vicars against the single judge’s order. In their appeals, the government and the vicars contended that the single judge had exceeded its jurisdiction by issuing the directive to take possession of the churches. They said that a single judge could not issue a directive to implement a judgment while dealing with a petition filed under the provisions of Contempt of Courts Act.

The Bench had observed that the court could not and should not rest by passing a punitive order against the contemnor. It was the duty of the court to see to that its order was implemented and the contemnor did not enjoy the benefits he had derived by violating the court’s order. If this was not done, the entire process of law and justice would become a farce. The single judge acted within the contours of his jurisdiction while passing the order, the Bench had added.

Published - October 21, 2024 07:25 pm IST