The Madras High Court has appointed its retired judge J Kanagraj as the Adminstrator of faction-ridden Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church (TELC) which is facing prolonged litigations by its own members.
Kanagaraj would administer the church till further orders, a bench comprising Justice M Sathyanarayanan and Justice T. Raja said in an interim order on a petition filed by Rev Fr M S Arivannal.
TELC, which comprises about 120 pastorates and churches in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Puducherry, owns properties and runs various educational institutions has been facing various litigations from its own rival members.
The appointment of the administrator was made as the church council's three-year tenure ended on May 2.
"...It has become the duty (of the court) to ensure the smooth functioning of TELC till the disputes raised in the appeals are answered," the bench said.
