The Madras High Court recently reiterated that houses cannot be used as prayer halls without permission from concerned authorities. [Pastor L Joseph Wilson v. The District Collector].Justice N Anand Venkatesh, referring to his own 2021 judgment in T Wilson v. The District Collector & Ors, underscored that using a property as a prayer hall cannot be claimed as a right. "Conducting prayer meetings in a prayer hall requires obtaining permission from the authority concerned under the relevant rules. Hence, the petitioner cannot, as a matter of right, have a prayer hall to conduct prayer meetings without obtaining any permission," the Court said. .The Court added that merely agreeing to not cause any noise or disturbance for neighbours would not suffice. "Mere non usage of loudspeaker and microphone will not solve the issue. The crux of the issue is that the petitioner cannot convert a house into a prayer hall to conduct prayer meetings. That requires proper permission from the authorities.".The petitioner was Pastor L Joseph Wilson, who runs a trust called Word of God Ministries Trust. Regular prayer meetings were held in a property owned by him. Over time, some complaints were made about the prayer meetings. In the meantime, he began the process of getting building permissions to construct a church on the property.The pastor's application was rejected and the local tahsildar issued a notice to him directing him to close down the prayer house. This prompted him to approach the High Court with the present petition. .Highlighting its own past judgment, the Court asserted that houses and other private properties cannot be converted into or used as prayer halls without prior permission from authorities.The Court said that this would apply in the present case, especially considering the district collector's submission that neighbors had complained about the prayer meetings..During the course of the case, Pastor Wilson submitted an affidavit undertaking that prayers would be conducted peacefully and quietly.However, the Court opined that the undertaking falls short and ordered that the pastor be allowed back on the property only on the condition that he would not use it as a prayer hall without getting necessary permissions."The property shall not be utilised as a prayer hall for conducting prayer meetings and if the petitioner intends to convert the property into a prayer hall, the petitioner is directed to approach the District Collector and seek for permission. If the petitioner once again attempts to utilise the property as a prayer hall, it is left open to the respondents to proceed further in accordance with law," the order stated..Pastor Wilson was represented by Advocate K Samidurai.Government Advocate TM Rajangam appeared for the State authorities..[Read order]
