The Madras High Court came down heavily on evangelist Mohan C Lazarus for making derogatory comments against Hindu temples and Hindu gods. Tamil Nadu has been a hotbed for evangelical mafias and there are hundreds of reports of foreign-funded Christian NGOs and missionaries using money power to convert people. Also, these missionaries have made it a habit to abuse Hinduism and Hindu symbols.
“Spewing venom against another religious faith and developing hatred among the followers of a particular religion against another, defies the very purpose of religion, which is meant to help a human being evolve towards higher truths,” the court said.
The case came up before a single judge bench of justice N Anand Venkatesh. The whole object of religion is to enable humans to evolve into better beings….Unfortunately, in many instances, people get blindly attached to their religious beliefs and tend to make demeaning statements against other religions. They do not realise that spirituality is not a medium through which each religion competes with each other to show its superiority over the other,” Justice Venkatesh observed.
The Court expressed strong disapproval over the statements made by the evangelist in this case. “The Petitioner is not involved in some competitive business. Therefore, he is not warranted to make statements merely to show his religion in superior light than that of others’. If the Petitioner has any such notions, it is high time that he changes himself for his own good and that of his followers,” Justice Venkatesh said.
“This Court holds a strong view that as persons capable of influencing large sections of the society that is driven by its religious sentiments, one needs to be extremely cautious and conscientious in exercising their rights, be it one of expression, religion or any other right. It cannot be at the cost of injuring the sentiments and rights of other fellow citizens who also form a constituent part of the rich culture and value system that our nation embodies. This Court would not hesitate to say that it is in fact the fundamental duty cast upon every citizen to ‘preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture’, and that such heritage and culture cannot be at any circumstance seen as one independent of the religious, cultural and civilizational sentiments that have been rooted, ingrained and etched in the history, soul and spirit of this nation”, the judgment further said.
The FIRs filed against him cited Sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion etc.), 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings), 505 (public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code.
Following an unconditional apology issued by the evangelist, all the FIRs registered against him were squashed by the High Court.
