SC asks Kerala govt to furnish church sex scandal report

The Supreme Court on Thursday instructed the Kerala Government to furnish a status report on Kerala church sex scandal case by August 6.

The apex court division bench, headed by Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri, also stayed the arrest of two accused, Jaise K. George and Father Sony Varghese, till August 6.

Out of four accused priests, the other two accused, Father Job Mathew and Father Johnson V. Mathew, were earlier granted conditional bails by the Kerala High Court.

The scandal first came into light when a woman parishioner visiting the Malankara Orthodox Church in Kerala's Ezhakadavu had accused five priests of sexually abusing her for a decade. Her husband lodged a complaint that she came under the duress from at least five priests.