Court grants bail to Indian bishop's aide in land case
The top court in a central Indian state has granted bail to the aide of a dismissed Protestant bishop accused of illegally transferring church properties. The High Court in Madhya Pradesh granted conditional bail to Prem Masih, a member of the Church of North India (CNI), on health grounds.
Masih, as an office-bearer of the United Church of Northern India Trust Association, is accused of conspiring with its president, dismissed Bishop P C Singh of CNI's Jabalpur diocese, to transfer church land worth 15 million Indian rupees
The court allowed Masih bail on Dec. 8, saying, “It is undisputed that the applicant is a 72-year-old man and is suffering from Parkinson’s disease.”
Masih was arrested by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Madhya Pradesh police as he was boarding a flight from Jabalpur airport on Oct. 12. The EOW opposed his bail, arguing he was involved in seven other criminal cases. The CNI, formed in 1970 by Protestant denominations in northern India, owns extensive land plots and properties, inherited from the UK’s Anglican Church. Prem Masih and Singh prepared forged documents to possess land in Jabalpur diocese which was given to it on a lease, according to the EOW.
The EOW raided the office and residence of Singh in Jabalpur on Sept. 8, 2022, following a complaint and seized cash worth 16 million Indian rupees and foreign currencies worth US$250. The prelate was arrested four days later.
Soon after the arrest, Singh was dismissed as Jabalpur's bishop by the CNI.
In April this year, the federal agencies arrested the bishop in a money laundering case. In September, the EOW registered another case against him and Massih with charges ranging from criminal breach of trust, cheating, forging documents, and criminal conspiracy while transferring government land given on lease to the CNI.
Due to his involvement in many cases, the court directed Masih to report to the EOW office every second Saturday.
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He was also directed to put up a bond of 50,000 Indian rupees for bail. The Christians make up a mere 0.29 percent of Madhya Pradesh's more than 72 million people, and 80 percent of them are Hindus. The CNI is a member of the World Methodist Council.
