A court in northeastern India has dropped contempt of court charges leveled at five Salesian priests after they submitted a written apology. The priests in Meghalaya state were facing charges after they allegedly demolished a school building owned by their Salesian congregation without the court’s say so. However, after having apologized, the state High Court dropped the charges on March 19, saying the priests “have the greatest respect for this court.” “They had and have no intention of disobeying the orders passed by it and every intention of obeying them. They tendered an unqualified apology and prayed for forgiveness,” the highest court in the state said. The court had charged the priests – Sagi Stephen, Arcadius Puwein, Edmund Gomes, Dianetius Fernandez and Cyril Tirkey – on Jan. 28, calling on them to explain “why they should not be punished for criminal contempt.” The charges came after they began demolishing a 72-year-old dilapidated school building in the state capital, Shillong. They allegedly ignored a public interest litigation against the move pending in the High Court. The court also told them to explain why they needed to demolish it. “We are happy that the court accepted our apologies and let off without any punishment,” said Father Stephan, one among the accused.