High Court: CSI Bishop can continue till age of 65

The Madras High Court on Monday said that the Bishop of the Church of South India (CSI) — Madras Diocese, Rev. Dr. V. Devasagayam, was entitled to continue till he reached the age of 65 years subject to decisions on civil suits.

Allowing two applications on a suit, Justice K. Chandru said that undoubtedly, the Bishop was appointed in terms of the procedure for electing a person to that office. Once elected and consecrated as Bishop, his retirement age was referable only to Rule 12 (a) of Chapter V of the Constitution of the CSI (Duration of appointment).

(As per the rule, a Bishop shall retire on completion of his 65th year of age.)

Mr. Justice Chandru said that the essential activities of the CSI were religious/spiritual in nature.

The post of the Bishop was an elected office and he was also the spiritual and temporal head of the Diocese.

Therefore, when a voluntary body such as the CSI framed certain by-laws, providing for an election to the post of the Bishop, then that office was regulated only by them. Neither any sub-group nor any other authority of society could have any right to curtail, annul, amend or modify the by-laws, except in accordance with the procedure available under those by-laws.

In an elected office held by the Bishop as spiritual and temporal head of an organisation, the question of curtailing his tenure did not arise. The constitution of the CSI Diocese did not clothe with any authority the power to deal with the tenure of office of an elected person.

Mr. Justice Chandru said the Moderator’s action had clearly resulted in manifest illegality, which went into the root of the matter. The Diocese was bound to act strictly as per the rules. Certainly, the rule relating to the retirement age was a mandatory rule.

The arguments advanced to the contrary were not acceptable.

Further, the issues raised by the contesting respondents were to be tried in the suit. Hence, till such time the suit was tried and a decision rendered, Rev. Dr. Devasagayam was entitled to continue till he attained the age of 65 years subject to the result of the suits. The contra applications were bound to fail, the Judge said.

The Judge dismissed two applications in another civil suit filed by the Laity Association of CSI — Madras Diocese. One sought an interim injunction restraining the Bishop from holding the post beyond May 1 and the other, a direction to the respondents to start the election process of bishopric falling vacant in the Madras Diocese immediately as per the CSI Constitution.