Indian court halts church construction, cites Hindu majority objections in controversial ruling
Chennai: A court in India’s Tamil Nadu state has halted the construction of a church near a Hindu temple, ruling that authorities should not disregard objections raised by the area’s Hindu majority.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the interim order was issued by the Madras High Court in a dispute over a proposed church building in Coimbatore. The court observed that when Hindus constitute an overwhelming majority in a locality and strongly oppose the construction of a church near an existing temple, such objections cannot be ignored by the authorities.
The petition was filed by a local Hindu resident who argued that the proposed church site lies in close proximity to a century-old Mariyamman temple and could potentially disturb communal harmony in the area.
The court further noted submissions claiming that the locality has a large Hindu majority and only a small Christian population. It also observed that revenue records identified the disputed site as a public road, raising questions over land ownership and legality of construction. The judges also said that the case involves unresolved issues of ownership as well as concerns related to maintaining social order and harmony.
The ruling has drawn attention for its reference to majority sentiment in assessing the permissibility of religious construction in a shared civic space. Legal experts and commentators have argued that constitutional rights should not be determined by numerical strength of a community in any locality.
Delhi University academic Apoorvanand said that when courts become sensitive to majority sentiment, justice is endangered. Senior advocate Sanjay Hegde also questioned the reasoning behind the ruling, while journalist and Yale University lecturer Sushant Singh expressed concern about the implications of the order for constitutional governance.
The judgment has also renewed scrutiny of Justice G.R. Swaminathan, one of the judges on the bench. Previous rulings by the judge, including a controversial order related to a Hindu religious festival in Tamil Nadu, had sparked debate and even impeachment attempts by some lawmakers, though without success.
