The Kerala High Court has ruled that unauthorized religious structures will not be allowed on government property, regardless of the faith they represent. Emphasizing the omnipresence of God, the court stated that divine presence extends to believers' bodies, homes, and all places they inhabit or visit.

"Therefore, the believers need not encroach upon government land to construct religious structures. Let it be distributed to landless people and used for mankind. God will be more happy in such a situation and will shower blessings on all believers," Justice P V Kunhikrishnan said.

The Kerala High Court issued its directives and made observations in response to a plea filed by the Plantation Corporation of Kerala Ltd. The plea sought instructions for the state government, police, and Pathanamthitta district authorities to identify properties leased to the corporation and remove all unauthorized occupants from those premises.

In its ruling on the Corporation's plea, the court instructed authorities to swiftly identify properties leased to it and to remove all encroachments, including illegal religious structures, from government land within six months of receiving the judgment. The court's order on May 27 also mandated the Chief Secretary to task all District Collectors with investigating whether any religious group has erected unauthorized religious symbols or structures on government land.

"The District Collectors shall conduct such an enquiry within a period of six months from the date on which the orders are received from the Chief Secretary of the state.

"Once any illegal religious structures are found in the government land, the jurisdictional District Collectors with the aid of the police department shall evict the illegal religious structures from the government land, within a period of six months after the enquiry is conducted as directed above, of course after hearing the affected parties if any," the court said.

In Justice Kunhikrishnan's ruling, it was noted that every religious denomination or any subgroup within it possesses the right to establish and sustain institutions dedicated to religious and charitable endeavors.

The Corporation stated in its plea that certain political groups were deliberately encroaching on its properties under the guise of religious activities. It alleged that when the Corporation resisted these actions, it resulted in significant law and order disturbances.

The Corporation further explained that its plantation workers, who predominantly adhere to the Hindu faith, reside in the accommodations provided by the Corporation, known as 'LAYAM'. Due to the lack of nearby places of worship, many employees constructed small structures and installed deities within them.

According to the police's statement to the court, initially, the Corporation did not object to the construction of small temples by its workers for their worship. However, over time, local residents began to interfere with these temples and attempted to construct new buildings nearby. This led to tensions between the Corporation and the local community. The police noted that while the small temples built by the workers were old and could be easily removed, doing so would likely result in law and order problems.

"Such places cannot be utilised for religious purposes. It will only create religious disharmony in the state. If one religion is allowed to erect its deity in a government land, the other religions also will start to erect their religious institutions. This will only create problems, including law and order issues in the state," the high court said.