The Madras High Court in an interim order halted the construction of a church near a Mariamman Temple dating back over 100 years in Coimbatore, observing that “mala fide intentions cannot be ruled out” if a large church is proposed in the vicinity of the temple.
A division bench of Justices GR Swaminathan and V Lakshminarayanan passed the order while hearing a petition filed by a man who challenged official decisions relating to the proposed construction by the Church of South India near the temple in Kalapatti.
The court noted that the Mariamman Temple had existed for over a century and that the proposed church would be located “a stone’s throw away”.
The bench also described Coimbatore as “a communally sensitive city”, stating that it has “witnessed bomb blasts and bloody religious riots”.
Referring to submissions made before it, the bench recorded that there were about 1,000 families in the area, of whom around 950 were Hindus, 15 were Muslims and only a few were Christians.
“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 bench said.
The court, however, said that its remarks should not be construed to mean that whenever there is opposition, the state must submit to it. “If right is established or if the opposition is found to be unreasonable…the state should go to any extent to uphold the right,” it said.
The court clarified that its observations were based on the specific facts of the case, including the disputed status of the land, the proximity of the proposed structure to the temple and the objections raised by residents.
“Considerations could have been different if the construction is on a patta land whose title is beyond dispute and there is no religious structure belonging to other communities in the immediate vicinity or if there is no opposition,” the bench said.
The dispute dates back to 2010, when permission was granted for the construction of a church near the temple. Temple worshippers subsequently filed a civil suit challenging that permission, which remains pending before the District Munsif Court in Coimbatore.
While the suit was pending , the Coimbatore collector and the revenue divisional officer issued orders in May 2023 granting police protection for constructing a church, The Hindu reported. The collector later issued a stop-work order in June 2023 after law-and-order concerns were raised.
The Church of South India challenged the Collector’s order before the High Court in 2024. On April 28, the court disposed of that petition but granted liberty to the church to submit a fresh application for construction after the civil suit is decided.
The present petition was then filed in May challenging the 2023 orders passed by the collector and revenue divisional officer.
Written by Sara Varghese. Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.
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