India’s top court granted bail to Father Abraham Thazhathedathu of the Jabalpur diocese, Bishop Ajay Umesh Kumar James of the Church of North India (CNI), and others on Aug. 20.
They appealed to the Supreme Court after the Madhya Pradesh High Court in central India turned down their pleas.
“We are happy that the top court has granted bail to our priest and others who are accused in a fabricated case,” vicar-general of Jabalpur diocese Father Davis George said.
The attorney for the state government vehemently opposed their bail pleas before a division bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and N Kotiswar Singh, saying they might tamper with evidence.
The lawyers for the applicants, however, countered by saying, the accused were engaged in educational activities and did nothing illegal.
Police in Madhya Pradesh arrested 22 people on May 27, including 13 management members and staff from seven Christian-run schools in Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh state, ruled by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
They were accused of charging students excessive fees and selling textbooks at exorbitant prices. Cases have been registered against 51 people from 11 private schools and book publishers.
A female principal from a Christian school secured bail earlier while other Christian-run school staff members were detained.
“We are relieved,” George told UCA News on Aug. 20.
The police action against the Christian schools was “totally illegal” with “malicious intent,” he added.
The Jabalpur bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Aug. 13 suspended an education department order on July 9 telling the Christian schools to reimburse nearly US$5 million they allegedly collected in excessive fees from students in the past six years.
The court will hear the case on Aug. 25 after the education department filed its reply.
Schools in Madhya Pradesh are allowed an annual fee hike of up to 10 percent. Beyond that, the district collector’s nod is required, while a fee hike exceeding 15 percent has to be sanctioned by a state-level panel.
“We never charged exorbitant fees,” said George.
“The schools were ordered to reimburse tuition fees even for the Covid-19 period when we did not charge any fees,” the priest said.
Madhya Pradesh has the highest number of tribal people in India. Christian schools are the most sought-after in Jabalpur, known as the cultural capital of Madhya Pradesh.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is against missionary activities that benefit tribal people and other poor sections of society, said a Church official.
Church leaders have accused the right-wing state government of unleashing targeted attacks on Church-run institutions, including schools, hostels, and orphanages.
Cases are registered against Church officials, including a retired Catholic bishop, priests, and nuns, under a stringent anti-conversion law in the state that bans religious conversion.
The Church runs many educational institutions that benefit tribal people in the state, who constitute more than 21 percent of Madhya Pradesh’s 72 million people, and Christians make up a mere 0.27 percent.