The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice on a petition challenging the alleged practice of mandatory and forced confessions in Kerala’s Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, Live Law reported.

The petitioners, Mathew Mathachan and CV Jose, argued that the practice of undergoing “sacramental confession” before a priest affects human dignity and liberty of thought. They said believers have been forced to not speak against it out of fear of removal from parish membership and ostracisation.

A bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde had first asked advocate Sanjay Parekh to approach the High Court. However, Parekh cited Supreme Court’s September 2019 order after the KS Varghese case, prohibiting all civil courts and High Courts in Kerala from passing any judgement in violation of the mandate.

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The petition raises the question of whether mandatory sacramental confession before priests violates Articles 21 (personal liberty) and 25 (freedom of religion) of the Constitution.

Mathachan and Jose said that forced and compulsory confessions from men and women have led to severe problems, including the exploitation of women and blackmailing.

“If a person has not confessed, then that person’s name will be struck off from the parish register and he/she is barred from all activities of the church,” the petition read. “If that concerned person wants to get married, he/she will have to mandatorily confess before his permitted to marry, failing which the Vicar of the Parish will not recognise him as the member of the Church as his membership in view of the non-performance of confession.”

In 2018, the Kerala High Court had dismissed a plea seeking to declare the practice of “sacramental confession” to be unconstitutional. The court had said that the practice was one of the quintessential practices of following Christianity.