Kota, India – The Rajasthan High Court on Wednesday (June 28) temporarily restored the registrations of five institutions run by Christian charity Emmanuel Mission International (EMI) and restored access to their bank accounts.
Judges will review the decision at a judicial hearing on Tuesday (July 4).
EMI operates the Emmanuel Bible Institute Samiti, Emmanuel Anath Ashram (Orphanage), Emmanuel School Society, Emmanuel Chikitsalaya (Hospital) Samiti, and Emmanuel Believers Fellowship. The organization leads a native church movement and serves over 10,000 children through humanitarian and educational work.
The Kota Registrar of Societies had alleged that board meetings of the institutions were not being held regularly and that the chairman and president were blood relatives – contrary to government regulations for societies.
On these grounds, the registrar revoked the registrations of EMI institutions on February 20 and froze their bank accounts.
Decision Reversed
On Monday (June 26), the high court sent notices to the Registrar of Societies in Kota district and to the Rajasthan state government, asking them to “show cause” for canceling the registration of all five institutions. The registrar was asked to respond at the July 4 hearing.
“If the court is not satisfied, it may stay the order of the Registrar of Societies, thereby reviving the legal entity of the institutions and permanently restoring their bank accounts,” Mohammad Akram, EMI’s attorney, told Compass.
On June 13, a single bench of the high court had dismissed five writ petitions filed by EMI challenging the cancellation of their registrations.
Hindu extremists have hounded EMI since January, when they accused EMI staff of hurting religious sentiments and breaking government regulations by distributing Haqeekat (Reality), a book that allegedly denigrates Hindu gods.
EMI President Samuel Thomas and his father, Archbishop M.A. Thomas, were charged with creating “communal disharmony.”
Samuel Thomas was arrested on March 16 but released on interim bail on May 2.
Archbishop Thomas, was also charged but went “underground” and applied for anticipatory bail, before appearing at Udyog Nagar police station in Kota on May 15 to answer charges. Both men are due in court this August.
On Thursday (June 29), however, India’s Supreme Court issued notices to the Rajasthan government seeking transfer of the cases to a court outside the state. The Supreme Court also asked Thomas and his son to submit a copy of the controversial book, Haqeeqat, for investigation.
EMI staff members have explained that the book was neither written nor published by EMI. When they realized that the book contained potentially offensive comments, they immediately stopped selling it.
‘Takeover’ Threatened
Last week, state social welfare minister Madan Dilawar announced to local media that his department would take charge of all five institutions.
“Dilawar then sent social welfare officials to the EMI orphanage in Kota to prepare for a takeover,” Akram said.
According to Akram, Dilawar’s statement and the subsequent presence of government staff at the orphanage was illegal and unconstitutional.
A senior EMI staff member in Jaipur, capital of Rajasthan, said Dilawar came to EMI’s orphanage last Saturday (June 24) and inspected the premises. Dilawar also gave pictures of Hindu gods to some of the children and encouraged them to worship these images.
Another EMI worker, James Abraham, wrote to Kota district officials alleging that social welfare officer Dinesh Rajpurohit also visited the orphanage with several members of an extremist group, the Matantaran Virodhi Manch or Anti-Conversion Front, on June 21.
“They [the extremists] went straight into the girls’ hostel and into their rooms without knocking on their doors,” Abraham said. “They also passed obscene remarks.”
When EMI staff objected, the extremists threatened to lodge false cases against them, claiming that the girls were not safe under EMI management.