Kochi: The Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese of the Syro Malabar Church is likely to challenge the Kerala High Court verdict rejecting its appeals on a controversial land deal, sources claimed.

On Thursday, the high court had made it clear that the further proceedings in connection with the irregularities in the land deal cannot be quashed. Accordingly, Cardinal Mar George Alencherry has to stand trial.

The court ordered the government and investigation agency to conduct a detailed probe to ascertain whether the land transferred by Brothers of the Roman Catholic Community under a settlement deed included puramboke land, i.e. unassessed land belonging to the government.

Justice P Somarajan rejected seven petitions, including the one filed by Major Archbishop Cardinal Mar George  Alencherry, against the order of lower courts summoning the parties for trial.

The petitions were filed after Judicial First-Class Magistrate Court at Kakkanad issued a summons in connection with the six petitions filed by Joshy Varghese of Perumbavoor who had alleged irregularities in the land deal.

The high court considered the six petitions filed by the Cardinal and the one filed by Saju Varghese who was the middleman in the land sale.

The case has been posted for action taken report on October 25.

Cardinal's argument

The Cardinal argued that being the head of the Church only Canon law was applicable to him and the common law was not applicable for transferring Church's property. There was a civil dispute regarding the Church's land and not a criminal case. Hence his petition demanded that further proceedings and the case in magistrate court should be scrapped.

Court's response

However, the high court pointed out that the land connected with the Church was not transferred. Such transfers will not have the backing of Canon law or the Church's constitution. There was no transparency in the sale. Neither the church members were informed nor their consent was taken regarding the transaction. The sale was carried out without general auction or passing general information and without bargaining for the maximum price.

The land adjoining the national highway was transferred and sold at a very low price. In one of the transactions worth Rs 3.99 crore the money was received in several instalments and that too when complaints started coming in, the high court observed.

All these actions led to suspicion regarding a conspiracy and betrayal in the deal. There are also doubts regarding the transaction carried out on the basis of a settlement deed with the Brothers of the Roman Catholic community in 2007. It is not clear in the documents as to how they received the ownership of the land.

There is also suspicion that the transaction was done to regularise the encroached puramboke land, the court noted.

The court in its order stated that it cannot turn a blind eye to these irregularities and made it clear that a detailed probe was required into the whole issue.

The petitions were filed in the high court challenging the session court's refusal to intervene in the case and the orders passed by the magistrate court.