HC suggests Centre to bring suitable Act to check administration of properties of Christian institutions and control illegal activities of administrators

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has suggested the Central government to enact a suitable legislation along the lines of the Hindu Religious Endowments Act and the Waqf Act to check the administration of properties of Christian Institutions and control the illegal activities of the administrators.

A Division Bench of Justices P. Velmurugan and K.K. Ramakrishnan also suggested a suitable amendment be made to the Registration Act prohibiting the alienation of properties of Christian Institutions without the permission of the court.

The court observed that it had taken judicial notice of some fraudulent transactions made by the administrators of Christian communities selling the properties illegally to enrich themselves in utter violation of the noble object of the society. The brothers and the sisters of Christian institutions started the society buying properties with the sole purpose of helping and uplifting the downtrodden people.

More than Rs.1 lakh crore properties have been subjected to illegal alienation. The intention of the brothers and the sisters who had started the society to serve the people would become a mirage. The main reason for the illegal transactions was the lack of suitable legislation to control the management of the property of the Christian society, the court observed.

Therefore, to check the administration of the properties of the Christian Institutions, suitable legislation with suitable provisions to manage the properties of Christian Institutions was a timely requirement, the court observed.

The court said it issues such a direction only in the interest of protection of the properties of Christian Institutions considering the extraordinary situation. The court made the suggestion while hearing a case relating to a Christian Society.

Earlier, Justice N. Sathish Kumar, while hearing a similar case, had observed that while the charitable endowments of Hindus and Muslims were subject to statutory regulation, no such comprehensive regulation exists for such endowments for Christians. To make the institution more accountable, there must be a Statutory Board to regulate the affairs of the administration. The court had sought response from the Centre and the State governments in this regard.

Published - November 21, 2024 08:34 pm IST