Bengaluru: Allegations of election manipulation within the Church of South India (CSI) have reached the Karnataka High Court, with a petition claiming that charges against a prime accused in a church malpractice case were deliberately withdrawn as part of a deal to influence church elections.
Moses, a member of St Peter’s Tamil Church in Cox Town, has filed a complaint before the High Court Chief Justice as well as the Home, Law and Prosecution departments, alleging that one member by named Vinod Dasan misused police influence, filed false cases and submitted forged documents to secure top positions within the church.
According to the petition, Jayaraj and Vinod, who allegedly belong to a Scheduled Caste community, posed as Christians by submitting “fabricated identity documents.” On this basis, Jayaraj reportedly served as secretary of St Peter’s Tamil Church. Moses claims he discovered the alleged misrepresentation and lodged a complaint, after which both father and son retaliated by filing false cases through Pulakeshinagar police, subjecting him to harassment.
The petition further says CSI rules bar Jayaraj from holding office as he “has multiple wives” and “is not a Christian by belief.” Moses alleges that in order to obstruct his campaign to remove Jayaraj from his post, a false case was registered against him in 2016. A chargesheet was filed but Jayaraj allegedly failed to appear in court, and Vinod later withdrew the case in 2023 “fearing conviction.”
Moses also claims Vinod filed several cases against him — CC Nos. 50311/2016, 51150/2017 and 2793/2021 — to influence church elections and target individuals who questioned their SC/ST background.
A separate FIR (Crime No. 27/2018) was filed regarding alleged church malpractice. In that case, Vinod reportedly named Reverend Theodore William, Stephen and Moses as accused while defending Jayaraj, who was then church secretary. Police filed a chargesheet, but CSI allegedly moved to drop charges against the main accused, Rev. William, as part of an “election rigging compromise.” The accused and the complainant filed for mediation and reached a settlement.
Moses has questioned why prosecutors did not object despite serious allegations, expressing concern that the prosecution seemed intent on acquitting only the prime accused while continuing proceedings against “innocent individuals.” Such developments, he said, raise concerns about interference in the judicial process.
In his plea, Moses has sought an impartial probe into the roles of Jayaraj and Vinod, alleging misuse of money power, police pressure and strategic filing of false complaints to secure influential church posts. He has also urged the Home, Law and Prosecution Departments to investigate alleged police irregularities and the role of prosecution officials in the cases.