Thiruvananthapuram: Three priests accused of sexually abusing a married woman had their anticipatory bail pleas dismissed by the Kerala High Court on Wednesday.
The decision means the priests can now be arrested.
The three priests, from Kerala’s Malankara Orthodox Church are facing charges of molestation and rape. Two other priests have also been accused of abusing the woman.
The matter came to light after the woman’s husband complained to church authorities about the abuse suffered by his wife at the hands of five priests in the church, allegedly after they exploited information from her confessions.
Four of them are currently facing charges and three of them sought anticipatory bail from the High Court.
The High Court felt there was prima facie evidence against the priests and accepted the prosecution’s argument against granting them bail, because they were wanted in custody for questioning.
The priests have been absconding after the woman and her husband made public the alleged abuse by the priests.
National Women’s Commission chairperson Rekha Sharma met the victim to take her statement. Sharma said she would find out from the church leadership why such things happened in the church.
On social media, several people suggested a change to the system of confession in churches, arguing that it offered priests a window to tap sensitive information from women and then blackmail them and subject them to sexual abuse.
Meanwhile, the Catholic Church is facing a similar case, with a nun alleging that the bishop of Jalandhar, Punjab, Franco Mulackal had sexually abused her as many as 13 times at a church-owned institution in Kuravilangad near Kottayam. Mulackal has denied the allegation, stating that the nun had a grudge against him because he had transferred her from her position.
