The Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court on September 23 dismissed a 2022 FIR against Pastor Dominic D’Souza and his wife, Joan D’Souza, founders of the Five Pillars Church in Siolim, Goa. The case, which alleged that the couple had coerced two individuals into converting to Christianity, was dropped after the additional public prosecutor admitted there was no evidence to support the claims.
The FIR in the case was filed in May 2022 by a man named Prakash Khobrekar, who alleged that the couple had induced two people to give up their faith and convert to Christianity, offering cash and promising to cure them of their ailments. The pastor was arrested after the complaint was filed and released on bail the same day. With the passing of the High Court’s judgement, the case has now been proved false. The Five Pillars Church in Siolim village has been facing trouble since the present state government, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party, was re-elected to power in 2022. In January 2024, Pastor Dominic was arrested in a separate case filed by Balasubramaniam Vadivel, who accused him of attempted conversion. The pastor was subsequently granted bail, and the FIR related to the case has been contested by the pastor and his spouse in the High Court, with a hearing scheduled for next month. In December 2022, the then North Goa District Collector Dr. Sneha Gitte had passed an order banning all activities of the church following complaints of alleged illegal conversions against it. However, the church successfully appealed the decision, and the Bombay High Court at Goa quashed and set aside the ban in May 2024.
