New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to parties including the central and state governments on a petition seeking to declare compulsory confession in Orthodox churches as unconstitutional. The notice was issued by a bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde.

The main demand of the petition is to repeal Articles 7 and 8 of the Church Constitution which required a confession to attend the 1934 Parish General Meeting. The petition alleges that priests have sexually exploited women parishioners after forcing them to confess and have also used their confessions to blackmail their spouses/parents. It also states that there has been an increase in the number of deaths that were caused by such exploitation.