The Fabrica of Holy Spirit Church, Margao, has approached the Court of the Inspector of Survey and Land Records (ISLR), Margao, seeking protection for religious structures and adjoining areas it claims within the Hospicio Hospital property.

Parish Priest Fr Domingos Noronha, who is also president of the Fabrica, has filed an intervention application opposing the blanket confirmation of Chalta No. 4 in favour of the Directorate of Health Services (DHS). He has urged the court to consider the Church’s objections before deciding on the ownership of the entire property.

In the application, Noronha has sought separate survey numbers for the main chapel housing the tomb of the late Fr Antonio João de Miranda, a smaller chapel on the north-eastern side, the convent of sisters on the south-eastern side, and the chapel and other religious structures near the TB Hospital.

Noronha submitted that Hospicio was established as a charitable initiative by Fr Miranda before the then Goa government took over the hospital’s management. However, he argued that the takeover of hospital administration should not automatically be treated as proof that all religious structures, movable properties, statues, religious vestments and adjoining areas were transferred to the government.

The intervention application states that the religious structures and their associated areas within PT Sheet No. 190, Chalta No. 4, have remained in the Church’s open, continuous and uninterrupted possession. The Fabrica claims these properties are owned by it or held for religious purposes.

Noronha has argued that including several structures under a common survey or property description does not, by itself, establish ownership by a single claimant. He has asked the court to examine the relevant title documents, historical records, possession and objections raised by interested parties before passing any order confirming the entire property in the DHS’s name.

He has also requested that the court take on record the field inspection conducted on October 16, 2026, along with the inspection report and related documents.