Supreme Court Halts Criminal Proceedings Against Priest Over Religion Remarks

The Supreme Court paused criminal proceedings against a Christian priest accused by Uttar Pradesh Police of declaring Christianity as the only true faith. It seeks responses from the state after Father Vineet Vincent Pereira challenged an Allahabad High Court's decision that didn't dismiss the charges against him.

The Supreme Court, on Friday, temporarily halted criminal proceedings against a Christian priest in Uttar Pradesh, who faced charges over statements proclaiming Christianity as the only true religion. The ruling came from a bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, who also issued a notice to the Uttar Pradesh government requesting their response to Reverend Father Vineet Vincent Pereira's plea. The priest had challenged a decision by the Allahabad High Court.

The priest contested the High Court's March 18th decision, which refrained from dismissing the criminal case against him. The High Court had previously ruled that proclaiming any faith as the singular true religion is inappropriate in secular India and could amount to disparaging other religions, thus invoking legal provisions.

The High Court suggested the statements might fall within Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code, which addresses intentional insults to religious sentiments. According to Uttar Pradesh police, the priest allegedly held prayer meetings asserting Christianity's supremacy, impacting the emotions of other community members. The investigation revealed no proof of illegal religious conversion, but charges remained for alleged criticism of other religions.

(With inputs from agencies.)