The Madurai branch of the High Court ordered the shutting down of a Christian church near the Muthumariamman temple in Manamadurai, Sivagangai district. This was found to have been built without proper permission from the district administration and opened for worship.
Hindu organizations, including the Indhu Munnani, opposed the construction of a church on the Sivapuram Road in Manamadurai while it was being constructed. However, as the construction work continued. Following this, Marimuthu, a member of the Indhu Munnani District Executive Committee from Manamadurai, filed a case in the Madurai branch of the Madurai High Court. In it, he had demanded an order to stop the construction of a Christian church near the Muthumariamman temple in the Dayapuram area in Manamadurai, which was being built without the proper permission of the district administration.
The prosecutor who appeared in the case argued that construction of the church had already been completed and the church was open for worship. Following this, the judges had asked the Manamadurai Union Kalkurichi Panchayat President to appear in the case and give an explanation. Following this, Yasmin, the Chairman of the Kalkurichi Panchayat Council, appeared at the hearing of the case and explained it through a video conference. She said that permission had already been granted on behalf of the panchayat administration to extend the deadline for construction work following the permission given by the Panchayat Union office when the local body was not in power and admitted to their mistake.
Following this, the order issued by the bench comprising Justices DS Sivagyanam and Anandi stated as follows: “Worship can be held where there is no objection. The Panchayat administration does not have the authority to give permission for the construction of a new Christian church to be built and opened in the Dayapuram area of Manamadurai. Only the district administration is authorised to issue permits. The court orders the church administration to shut down the church immediately. Otherwise, the Manamadurai Regional Development Officer will have to shut it down.”
The administration then applied to the district collector for a permit to allow the construction of the church within a week and the collector is to consider the application within 10 days and issue an appropriate order.
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