Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Friday set aside a controversial move by the state government to transfer land to St. George Church in Mananthavady.

The bench of Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan held that the government's action had hurt the aspirations of landless tribal communities awaiting land allotments in the state.

In 2015, the UDF government allotted 5.5358 hectares of land to the church at a rate of Rs 100 per acre. The land, which had a monetary value greater than Rs 3 crores in 2015, was transferred for a nominal fee of Rs 1200. 

Following this, those belonging to tribal communities filed a petition questioning the move. 

The court ruled that the land ownership should only be transferred to the church if they paid the market value. The church has been granted a period of one month to settle the payment. The government was also instructed to reclaim the land if the church failed to make the payment.