JUDGMENT

The defendant in a suit, O.S. No.851 of 2017, for permanent prohibitory injunction nonsuited concurrently, has come up in the present appeal.

2. The parishioners of St. Mary’s Church (Cathedral), Manarcadu, Kottayam, St. Thomas Orthodox Church, Meenadom, Baselellus Mar Gregorious Orthodox Church, Thazhathangadi, St. George’s Orthodox Church, Valiapalli, Puthuppally and St. George’s Orthodox Church, Parampuzha had approached the Principal Munsiff Court, Kottayam, contending that they are the constituent Churches of Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church coming under the Kottayam Diocese and are governed by the 1934 Constitution of Malankara Church, which was framed on 29.12.1934. According to them, there are one hundred and twenty-two (122) churches under the Kottayam Diocese of Malankara Church and are governed by the said constitution. The defendant, who claims to be the Metropolitan of the Yacobaya Suriyani Christiani Sabha, formed in the year 2002 and