REV. D.K. STEPHEN, PASTORATE CHAIRMAN, CHURCH OF SOUTH INDIA Vs. REV. D. DAVID ANBU PRABAKARAN, JAWAHAR NAGAR PASTORATE, TDTA AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Writ petitioner herein is said to have arranged a One Day Fellowship Conference on 18.08.2018 at Jawahar Nagar Pastorate St.Paul's Church, exclusively for women. The fourth respondent has passed the impugned order dated 16.08.2018 denying permission to conduct such a conference. The said order is questioned in this Writ petition.

(2.) Heard, Mr. M.S. Sureshkumar, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner as well as Mr.A.M.Muthukkaruppan, learned Additional Government Pleader appearing for respondents 3 and 4 and Mr.K.Anbarasan, learned counsel appearing for the first respondent and Mr.S.Chellapandian, learned counsel appearing for the second respondent.

(3.) The learned counsel appearing for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner is the Pastor of Jawahar Nagar and that he has made all arrangements for conducting the Conference in question with the Moderator of the Synod as the chief guest. He pointed out that only to frustrate the conducting of such conference, the first respondent has made an announcement that a Conference for Men is to be held in the very same venue on the very same date. The learned counsel for the petitioner would contend that only to enable the fourth respondent to pass the impugned order of rejection, such a rival Conference has been proposed to be conducted. This allegation made by the Writ petitioner is refuted by the learned counsel for the first respondent as well as the learned counsel for the second respondent. The said counsel would point out that the petitioner has since been transferred and that the first respondent has been directed to hold Additional Charge of Jawahar Nagar Pastorate. They produced a copy of a communication dated 08.06.2018 in this regard. They would also submit that the Men's Conference was the only event that was to be conducted at St. Paul's Church on 18.08.2018 and that the holding of the Women's Conference under the auspices of the Moderator was nowhere in the Annual Calender.