Gorakhpur diocese in Uttar Pradesh state has been asked to pay for ‘encroaching’ on land it took on lease from govt.
An Indian diocese has decided to appeal against a court order to pay compensation to a villager for occu-pying his land in a northern state.
The Allahabad High Court in Uttar Pradesh on Sept. 10 asked the Gorakhpur diocese to pay along with the state government a compensa- tion of 1 million Indian rupees (US$11,910) to Bhola, the land owner who was identified by a single name.
“We are going to challenge the high court order in the Supreme Court [the top court in the country] as we do not agree with its findings that the diocese illegally encroached upon the land,” said Gorakhpur diocese spokes-person Father Justin Cheruparambil.