‘Let bells of 100-year-old church toll for Good Friday, Easter’

The first bench comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice M Sundar, on posting the matter to Tuesday for further hearing, felt that, “It is imperative that the church should be desealed to enable the devotees to offer prayers at the church during the holy week — Good Friday on April 14 and Easter Sunday on April 16.” 

As per the case, St Antony’s church at Dhanakottairaja Street had come into being in ‘sarkar poromboke’ a century ago. 

The 717 square feet church, which was originally built with mud walls was renovated in 1964 with cemented brick walls and asbestos. Subsequently, on February 24, 1977, electricity connection was obtained. Also, every year, on June 13, the church celebrated St Antony’s feast and car procession around the village. 

But, one Raguraman filed a writ petition alleging that land grabbers, with an intention to grab government lands and in the guise of constructing a church, were trying to make illegal constructions blocking the only passage available to residents. Based on this, the High Court passed an order against the church. 

But, the parish priest Father Samuel Savio, in his plea contended that despite the petitioner being aware that the church existed there for decades, had failed to include it as a party to the case and only based on these suppressed averments, the High Court passed an order against the church.

He also noted that thereafter the Housing and Urban Development Department had held that the church was not an encroachment and had stayed the de-occupation notice served. Moreover, it also offered six months’ time to complete all legal formalities for alienation of the land in favour of the church and obtain planning permission. 

But while the representation in this regard was pending, on January 4, 2017, Chennai Corporation authorities, as a follow-up action on the contempt petition, came to the church and locked and sealed the premises. The act of sealing of premises has hurt religious sentiments of all church-goers, the plea said.