The Kerala High Court has held that the practice of endogamy prevailing in Knanaya Catholic Church is not an essential religious practice and thus “impermissible in law”. Dismissing the appeal filed by the Archeparchy of Kottayam, Metropolitan Archbishop, and Knanaya Catholic Congress against a lower court order, Justice S Easwaran on March 23 said that religious autonomy could not be used as a licence to infringe on constitutionally guaranteed freedoms.
With this, the court has put an end to the legal fight between Knanya Catholic Naveekarana Samiti (KCNS) and individuals who were excommunicated from the Knanaya Catholic church for marrying outside the community.
The Archeparchy of Kottayam had filed an appeal challenging the verdicts of the Additional Sub Court and Additional District Court in Kottayam in 2021 and 2022, which held that expulsion of its members for marrying outside the community was unconstitutional.
Before pronouncing the judgement, the judge observed that the teachings of Christ, the Bible, and the provisions of the Canon law do not support the practice of endogamy. The order said that though the membership in a particular diocese is not a fundamental right, any attempt to deprive it on account of the member to follow the practice of endogamy amounted to a deprivation of the rights under Article 25 (freedom of religion). It also held that any act of excommunication was a violation of Article 21 (protection of life and personal liberty) and Article 25.
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The order has put an end to the age-old discrimination that was first openly challenged by Kottayam-native late OM Uthup, who founded KCNS in 1991 after his son Biju Uthup was denied a vivahakuri - a consent letter - by the Knanaya Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Kottayam. The letter was denied on account that Uthup’s mother-in-law was a Latin Catholic. Soon more members who were excommunicated from the church joined KCNS.
KCNS founding member TO Joseph initiated the legal fight by filing a petition in 2021. Over 40 individuals, including Biju, joined the petition. Another individual who joined the cause was Justin John, whose marriage to Vijimol, a non-Knanite, in 2023 was denied by the Knanaya church in Kasaragod, despite the Kottayam court’s order.
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In a joint statement issued after the verdict, Biju and Justin expressed hope that the order would mark a new chapter of inclusion and wisdom within the church. "Today’s judgement is a historic moment for the Knanaya Catholic community. It ends a painful era where members were rendered 'Stateless' within the very community they were born into. The court has recognised that the right to marry, the right to dignity, and the right to one’s faith are inviolable. This outcome was achieved because we refused to let delay defeat justice," the statement said.
“No tradition, however ancient, can be used to extinguish the fundamental rights of a citizen. The doors of the church must remain open to all its members, grounded in the overarching mandate of equality,” the statement added.