The Madras High Court has restrained the construction of a church near a 100-year-old Mariyamman temple in Coimbatore, after observing that mala fide intentions could not be ruled out if a large church were proposed in the vicinity of the temple where Hindus constitute an overwhelming majority.
A Bench of Justices GR Swaminathan and V Lakshminarayanan passed the interim order on May 29 in a writ petition filed by Balasubramaniyam N, a resident of Kalapatti in Coimbatore.
The Court observed that the dispute involved the proposed construction of a large church in the immediate vicinity of a temple, in a communally sensitive city like Coimbatore. “Coimbatore is a communally sensitive city. It witnessed bomb blasts and bloody religious riots. The proposed church would come up within a stone’s throw from the existing Mariyamman Temple. There are only a handful of Christian families. If a large church is proposed to be constructed in the vicinity of the Mariyamman Temple, mala fide intentions cannot be ruled out,” the Court said.
The Court also noted that Hindus constituted an overwhelming majority in the locality and had vigorously opposed the construction of a church in the immediate vicinity of the temple. “When Hindus constitute an overwhelming majority and they vigorously oppose the construction of a church in the immediate vicinity of the temple, then, the authority must not casually brush the objection aside,” the Court said.
The petitioner claimed that the proposed construction was on government poramboke land and a public road. The Bench perused the revenue records and found that Survey No.155/2 was recorded as a tar road. “Title cannot vest in a private body when the revenue record indicates that it is a public road,” the Court said.
The Bench acknowledged that Article 25 of the Constitution protects the right to profess, practise, and propagate religion. However, it added that the right is subject to public order. “Irreparable hardship and loss will be caused to social amity if an interim order is not granted,” the Court held.
Madras HC restrains church construction near 100-year-old Mariyamman temple in Coimbatore, noting Hindus’ overwhelming majority opposition and mala fide intentions in a communally sensitive city.
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