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TMI Blog2016 (12) TMI 1823X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ts forth how the Church of South India came into being. It claims to be a part of One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church and a union of four different church traditions Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian and Congregational. It is also an autonomous Indian church and incidentally is not a registered body under any enactment. It is stated to have been formed immediately after the country gained independence. 4. The Membership of the Church of South India is of persons who are residents in four Southern States of India Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as also Jaffna in Sri Lanka, who have been baptized and are willing to abide by the faith and order of the church. 5. Chapter V of the Constitution deals with the Ministry of the Church and the ordained ministry of the church is to consist of Bishops, Presbyters and Deacons. Thereafter, the functions and responsibilities of each are provided. Rule 11 in this Chapter provides that every Bishop of a diocese will be the Ex-Officio Member of the Synod of the Church. 6. Chapter VI deals with the election, appointment, consecration and installation of Bishops, while Chapter IX deals with the Synod, wh ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ccurs, the Executive Committee shall fill up such vacancy subject to the approval of a majority of the members of the Synod which approval shall be obtained by circular vote'. (S.74:29) They shall be eligible for re-election for only one more term of 2 years consecutively. Rule 9. The Moderator shall be the presiding officer of the Synod, and the Chairman of its Executive Committee. He shall be the official representative of the Church during his term of office in all business with other Churches or organizations. 8. The Synod is the supreme governing and legislative body of the Church of South India and the final authority in all matters pertaining to the Church as per Rule 13 and is also empowered to make rules, pass resolutions and take executive action as may be necessary from time to time for the general management and good governance of the Church and of the properties and affairs thereof. 9. So much for the Constitution to the extent it affects the present dispute. THE FACTS: 10. The elections to the Synod were last held in January, 2014 and the tenure was for a period of two years, which was to expire in January, 2016. However, during November, 2015 certain amendm ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ts from implementing and giving effect to the said bye-law. Once again, no interim orders could be obtained. 14.1. On the issue of interlocutory relief, the interim applications have been dismissed by a common order dated 12.8.2016. 14.2. The learned Single Judge took note of Rules 20 and 27 of Chapter IX dealing with Synods, which read as under: Rule 20. An ordinary meeting of the Synod shall be held once in every two years at such time and place as the Executive Committee may determine. Special meetings of the Synod may also be summoned by the Executive Committee. Rule 27. The quorum for a meeting of the Synod shall be one-third of the total membership of whom not less than two-thirds shall be lay persons. 14.3. The learned Single Judge also noticed on the basis of the pleadings and the documents on record that the Constitution was sought to be amended pursuant to the communication sent by the Synod to all the Bishops of the Church of South India on 14.4.2015 and thereafter set forth the amendments which were sought to be challenged. 14.4. The learned Single Judge also took note of the bye-laws made to the Constitution, stated to be for the first time aft ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... procedure for voting has been set out in Chapter VI, more specifically in Rules 22 to 40, which envisage nomination and secret ballot. The top administrator is the Moderator, followed by the Deputy Moderator, General Secretary and the Treasurer, who are elected from the Synod. 17.3. The contention, therefore, is that there are 406 Synod Members constituting the Electoral College to elect the Moderator and the Deputy Moderator from among 22 Bishops and thus, whichever Bishop gets a majority from the electoral college of 406 members would be declared elected as Moderator or Deputy Moderator. It was urged that, in fact, even post amendment to the Constitution there was no change in this behalf and Rule 7 of Chapter IX both existing and proposed are as under: Existing Proposed 7. All the officers shall be elected by ballot of the Synod, the Moderator and the Deputy Moderator being elected from among the diocesan Bishops of the Church The Moderator and the Deputy Moderator shall be elected by the ballot of the Synod, from among the diocesan Bishops of the Church. The General Secretary and the Treasurer shall b e elected by the ballot of the Synod. 17.4. The appellants, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sirable qualifications for the post of General Secretary: (i) A person should not be less than 45 years (ii) A person should have sufficient educational qualifications (iii) A person should have sufficient administrative experience (iv) A person should have capacity to relate to the partners and agencies of the World Ecclesial communion (v) A person should have been a member of the Synod/Diocesan Executive Committee for at least one term. (vi) A person should have integrity and Churchmanship. c)The following are the desirable qualifications for the post of Treasurer: (i) A person should not be less than 45 years (ii) A person should have sufficient financial administrative experience (iii) A person should have sufficient knowledge of accounts, commerce and taxation laws (iv) A person should have sufficient legal acumen to deal with the Companies Act, FCRA and taxation regulations. (v) A person should have been a member of the Synod/ diocesan Executive committee for at least one term. (vi) A person should have integrity and Churchmanship. d)If the Nomination Committee brings in a name, the Synod will elect the General Secretary/the Treasurer by an affirma ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... consonance with the Constitution. 18.2. It was the contention of the respondents that the power of the Synod was in no manner curtailed and thus the right to election would be of the 406 persons. No doubt, the Bishops would meet before to nominate a person from among themselves either unanimously or by two-third majority. Such a nomination while sought to be put before the Synod, if it did not appeal to them, could be rejected by a simple majority. Thus, the final say was of the Synod. 18.3. The respondents also contended that the election has to take place from among the Bishops and thus as the religious heads, it was within their rights to nominate a person, who in turn would have to receive the ratification of the Synod and if he fails to do, then another two people have to be nominated by secret ballot, which would then be subject to the election by the Synod. CONCLUSION: 19. We have given our thoughtful consideration to the matter. 20. We have to keep in mind that the Constitution is the governing book to facilitate the functioning of the Churches and provides a democratic process for elections to various office bearers. The Constitution itself provides the procedure for ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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