The main legal point established in the judgment is the determination of territorial jurisdiction based on the allegations in the plaint, the relevance of the cause of action, and the essential conditions for the maintainability of the suit, as interpreted in the C.S.I. Constitution and the Civil Procedure Code.

The petitioner / first defendant has filed this transfer petition praying for issuance of an order by this Court to withdraw the suit O.S.No.6657 of 2008 pending on the file of learned VIII Assistant Judge, City Civil Court, Chennai, and to transfer the same to any other competent Court in Kanyakumari District.

2. The case of the petitioner / first defendant is that the cause of action in the plaint is against the fifth defendant and that the cause of action has arisen at Nagercoil in Kanyakumari District and that the plaintiff and all the defendants except the second defendant are residing in Kanyakumari District and inasmuch as the entire cause of action has arisen within the jurisdiction of Kanyakumari District, the learned VIII Assistant Judge, City Civil Court, Chennai has no territorial jurisdiction to entertain the suit and therefore, prays for transferring the suit O.S.No.6657 of 2008 from the file of the learned VIII Assistant Judge, City Civil Court, Chennai and to transfer the same to any other competent Court in Kanyakumari District.

3. The stand of respondents 3 and 4 is that the fifth respondent, the Bishop, who is the spiritual head of the Kanyakumari Diocese and its administrative head left for Lambath Conference at London between 08.07.2008 and 10.08.2008 and has remained absent during the period in Kanyakumari Diocese and though he has appointed the Vice President of Kanyakumari Diocese in his capacity as a President of the Diocese as Commissary, it is invalid as the appointment is not with the approval of the Executive Committee of the Diocese as per Clause 14 Chapter V of the Constitution of the Church of South India and as per C.S.I. Kanyakumari District Diocese Constitution and the Vice President as per clause 62.5 of the C.S.I. Constitution has powers to act for the President during his absence and therefore, the Vice President and other officers convened a Special Executive Committee meeting of the Diocese on 12.07.2008 to accept his resignation of the post of Treasurer appointed in the place of Treasurer Dr.Moses, who resigned to go abroad for his personal affair and on his return, he asked to resign enabling the Diocese to appoint him or any other person as Treasurer, since it has been a stop gap arrangement, he has been re-appointed as Treasurer and the Executive Committee has passed this resolution.

4. Added further, on 02.08.2008, the Vice President and other Officers convened the regular Executive Committee meeting to resolve certain pending issues and the Executive Committee passed five or six resolutions that have been moved in the regular meeting and that the fifth respondent – Bishop on his return from abroad, has stayed the two proceedings of the Executive Committee by his stay order dated 11.08.2008 by virtue of his power under Clause 62.4 of the Kanyakumari Diocese Constitution and that a copy of the same has been sent to the second respondent Moderator and that the first respondent herein viz., A.Johnson initiated suit O.S.No.4468 of 2008 on the file of the learned VIII Assistant Judge, City Civil Court, Chennai to declare the stay order of the Bishop dated 11.08.2008 as null and void and to restrain the other defendants in the suit viz., the other respondents and the petitioner herein from interfering with the functions of the present Executive Committee and that an order of status quo has been granted in the interim application against which respondents 2 and 5 have filed C.R.P.Nos.3294 and 3295 of 2008 and they have been allowed by this Court remanding the matter and directed I.A.Nos.16120 and 16121 of 2008 to be disposed of afresh within a time frame.

5. It is significant to point out that when I.A.Nos.16120 and 16121 of 2008 have come up for hearing on 011. 2008, at that time, the petitioner / first defendant has filed this present transfer petition praying for transfer of the suit O.S.No.6657 of 2008 from the file of learned VIII Assistant Judge, City Civil Court, Chennai