India’s Supreme Court has quashed two criminal cases against a top Christian educator and his friend in northern Uttar Pradesh state, declaring the cases an “abuse of the process of law.” The May 24 order of the top court in the country said the lower courts need to exercise their powers to examine if “the criminal proceedings are being misused as instruments of oppression or harassment.” The order quashed two police complaints and the resultant criminal trial proceedings against Vinod Bihari Lal, the director of Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture Technology and Science, based in Prayagraj, formerly Allahabad. The cases were registered against Lal and his friend, David Dutta, another Christian residing in Allahabad, in 2018, accusing them of violating a state law banning gangster activities. The charges included economic offences, as well as engaging in activities that threatened “law and order” in society. The complaint states that Lal and Dutta comprise “an organized gang… proficient in the commission of economic crimes through fraud and deceit” and other criminal activities, according to court documents. The complaint said that through criminal activities, they both “accumulate wealth” and, due to the “fear and terror” surrounding them, “no one comes forward” to report their crimes or “muster courage to testify in court.” The Allahabad High Court, the state’s top court, on May 19, 2023, rejected Lal’s plea for relief and allowed the district court to proceed with the criminal trial. It forced Lal to appeal to the Supreme Court to clear his name of the allegations.
Spanish bishops speak out after leaks of their meeting with Leo XIV
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