by Anugrah Kumar, Christian Post
India’s Supreme Court has stayed all criminal proceedings against a Roman Catholic priest who was charged with hurting religious sentiments after he told a church congregation that Christianity was the only true religion.
The priest, Father Vincent Pereira from the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, has faced charges under Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code since February 2024, according to the United Kingdom-based group Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW).
Section 295A criminalizes deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings, a provision often seen as functioning like a blasphemy law.
A First Information Report, or formal police complaint, was filed against Pereira in 2023 at the Muhammadabad Police Station in Uttar Pradesh’s Mau District after he was accused of hurting the religious sentiment of the Hindu community by claiming that Christianity was the only true religion during a church service.
Pereira petitioned the Allahabad High Court to quash the charges.
On March 18, 2026, the court dismissed the petition, ruling that claiming any one religion as the only true religion is wrong in a secular country like India because it may be derogatory to other faiths.
Pereira then appealed to the Supreme Court of India.