Kerala High Court dismisses petition against Cardinal Alencherry
The Kerala High Court on Thursday dismissed a petition seeking police investigation against the head of Syro-Malabar Church Cardinal, George Alencherry and three others over alleged irregularities in land deals involving the church, causing huge loss. Dismissing the petition, Justice B Kemal Pasha said a private complaint given by the petitioner was pending before a magistrate's court and that an enquiry was going on.
Two other petitions on land deals are pending
The petitioner, Joshy Varghese, a resident of Perumbavoor, himself had given evidence before the magistrate's court. Hence, at this stage, the high court could not direct a police probe into the matter, Justice Pasha said. Two other petitions related to the land deals are pending in the high court. The petitioners have alleged irregularities in the land deals involving the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese.
Petitions filed after church committee probed the alleged irregularities
The petitions were filed after a church committee probed the alleged irregularities in financial and land transactions of the archdiocese. It had found instances of violation of canon and civil laws and recommended necessary action against those responsible. The committee also said that Cardinal Alencherry "seems to have fully known and involved" in the alienation and purchase of lands by the archdiocese.
The six-member panel was appointed by Alencherry
The land deals were made between April 1, 2015 and November 30, 2017. The six-member panel, comprising priests, was appointed by Alencherry after some priests and faithful accused him of having sold prime land of the archdiocese for "a very low price". The Syro-Malabar Church has over 30 dioceses in the country and four outside that serves over five million faithful.
