New Delhi: Jessy Kurian stepped out of her convent’s head office in Hyderabad 19 years ago to start her legal practice in the Supreme Court.
She made the move immediately after the top court ruled that nuns and priests, who were law graduates, could practise in any part of the country.
Over the years, besides legal work, Jessy undertook volunteering work, including conducting training sessions for Supreme Court employees on gender sensitisation. She has written many books and more than 400 articles on various laws, particularly those concerning women.
To further her objective of “sincerely” working for the welfare of women, Jessy decided to participate in the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) elections this year for the post of member executive.
But an objection by the congregation to which she belongs has forced her to withdraw from the fray. Jessy, who had started canvassing for the polls a month ago, sent out messages Wednesday to all SCBA voters, informing them about her decision to withdraw owing to her church’s objection.
Speaking to ThePrint, Jessy said: “I was surprised to learn that the authorities of my congregation in Rome had declined my permission to contest. SCBA is not a political platform or a body from where I can derive monetary benefits. Also, there is no bar under canon law that prohibits a nun or priest to contest an election for an association of advocates.”
Jessy added she received the message objecting to her participation in the SCBA elections on 5 May, three days after she had informed the president of her congregation in India that she would be running. “Though I started canvassing a month ago, I officially sent an email to the president on 2 May. I was in Hyderabad that day and as per convention before leaving the place I intimated her about my travel plans to Delhi as well as about the elections.”
Till 4 May, Jessy did not receive any response and she returned to Delhi. A day later she got a WhatsApp message that said the “Mother General and the council” were not in favour of her contesting the SCBA elections. The message was unexpected for Jessy who thought contesting elections was part of her legal profession.
Since Thursday was the last day for filing nominations, Jessy said she did not have sufficient time to take any legal recourse. “I don’t know the grounds for the rejection so I cannot question the Church’s decision. If I would have received the response in time, I would have immediately sent them a mail, requesting them to hear me out and then decide with reasons. However, no such procedure could take place as the time was too short.”
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What does canon law say?
Member of the ‘Sisters of Saint Ann of Providence’, Jessy is the first nun from her congregation who is practising law. The congregation is Italy-based and has been active in India since 1871.
She recalled the top court judgement of 2006 that gave nuns and priests the right to work as a full-time lawyer. “The case arose after the Kerala Bar Council refused to register some nuns and priests there to join the profession. On a challenge the Kerala High Court ordered that we can practise. The Bar Council of India (BCI) and the state bar council contested it in the Supreme Court, which ruled in our favour,” she said.
Moreover, even the canon law that governs the Church does not impose any restriction on nuns or priests who want to take up law as a career. But as a member of the congregation, Jessy said, she diligently followed the rules that warrant nuns and priests to keep their president informed about any engagements they seek to take up.
Jessy said she was taken aback by the Church’s response to her choice because in 2008 it had allowed her to be a member of the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions, which is a government of India body. “The jurisdiction of a member in that body is that of a district civil judge and the protocol that was offered was similar to that of a secretary to the government of India. Yet, I was given a go-ahead to take up the position there,” she explained.
Twice, however, she was stopped from participating in political events. One of them was about her contesting Lok Sabha elections on a particular party ticket. “Then the Church did not want me to be associated with any political forum,” she said.
Recently, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Kochi, she was invited to share the dais at a gathering he was addressing. Her permission to attend the program was denied, which, Jessy said, she accepted.
But SCBA, she added, was different. “It’s incidental to my profession and I treat this association to be a part of my daily work. I wanted to work for the welfare of my women colleagues and was, therefore, keen to be a part of it,” she said.
According to her, there is a possibility that the Church mistook the SCBA as a political forum. Therefore, she felt, the Church should have asked her for her inputs before making a final decision.
Jessy said if she had permission to fight the SCBA polls, she would have been the first from her community of nuns and priests to have done so. “There are about 20 nuns and priests practicing law, while all India number is 500,” she said.
“To become a voter and qualify as a contestant in SCBA a lawyer needs to produce
50 appearances each made in the last two years. For 20 years I have been working
in these corridors and, thereafter, I have to face this,” she said.
“My intention was to do welfare work and unless I become a part of the association, I cannot take it forward,” Jessy added.
The Church’s objection has left Jessy, however, in high spirits to find out the
possibilities to make this dream a reality in the wider interest of her lawyer
community of priests and nuns. Jessy Kurian also said that the Church should give due
respect and recognition to the legal profession as any other, like teaching or nursing.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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