Panaji, Goa – September 27, 2025
In a significant relief for the Christian community in Goa, the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court on September 23 quashed a three-year-old First Information Report (FIR) against prominent Pastor Dominic D'Souza and his wife, Joan D'Souza, founders of the Siolim-based Five Pillars Church. The couple had been accused of coercing two individuals into converting to Christianity through cash incentives and false promises of medical cures, in a case that highlighted ongoing tensions over religious conversions in the coastal state.
The FIR, registered as No. 126/2022 at the Mapusa Police Station in May 2022, stemmed from complaints alleging that the D'Souzas had lured vulnerable locals with financial aid and assurances of healing their chronic ailments to induce religious conversion. Under Indian law, such acts fall under Sections 153A (promoting enmity between religious groups), 295A (deliberate acts intended to outrage religious feelings), and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code, though Goa lacks a specific state-level anti-conversion statute as of now.
The court's decision came after the Goa government, through its Additional Public Prosecutor, informed the bench that investigations had uncovered "no evidence" to substantiate the allegations. Mapusa Police had earlier submitted an 'A' summary report—a closure recommendation due to insufficient proof—yet no formal chargesheet was ever filed, allowing the probe to linger for over three years. Justice Nivedita Mehta and Justice Bharat Deshpande, hearing the couple's petition under Section 482 of the CrPC to quash the FIR, ruled that continuing the proceedings would amount to an abuse of process, effectively dismissing the case with costs.
"This is a big moment for my clients, who have endured harassment through a bogus and false case," said Advocate Manuel D'Souza, who represented the couple alongside Advocate Ankur Kumar. In a statement to reporters outside the court, Manuel emphasized the ruling's implications: "The Goa government’s Additional Public Prosecutor confirmed during the case hearing that there is no evidence to support the case. It was a false case, and therefore, there was no legal ground to justify ongoing proceedings." He added that the quashing paves the way for a compensation claim: "Now that the FIR has been quashed, we can submit the High Court judgement copy to the Mapusa JMFC and the Sessions Court to support our claim for compensation. The quashing of the FIR itself establishes that the allegations were false and serves as a strong foundation for our compensation claim."
Pastor Dominic D'Souza, 52, and Joan, 48, could not be reached for immediate comment, but church sources described the verdict as "vindication after years of persecution." The Five Pillars Church, established in 2015, serves a congregation of around 200 families in North Goa, focusing on community outreach, youth programs, and faith-based counseling. The couple's legal team argued in court that the accusations were motivated by local rivalries and misinformation, with no victim statements or material evidence emerging during the probe.
This is not the first brush with controversy for the D'Souzas. The 2022 FIR marks the eighth such complaint against Pastor Dominic, reflecting a pattern of scrutiny amid rising Hindu nationalist sentiments in the BJP-ruled state. In December 2022, shortly after the BJP's re-election, then-North Goa District Collector Dr. Sneha Gitte issued an order banning all religious activities at the Five Pillars Church, citing "illegal conversions through allurement or fraud." That ban was challenged and quashed by the same High Court bench in May 2024, with justices ruling it a "direct infringement of fundamental rights" under Articles 25 (freedom of religion) and 26 (freedom to manage religious affairs) of the Indian Constitution.
More recently, in January 2024, Pastor Dominic was arrested by Mapusa Police in a separate case filed by Balasubramaniam Vadivel, a Tamil Nadu native, who alleged the pastor practiced "black magic" alongside attempted conversions by pressuring him to renounce Hinduism. Booked under additional charges including Sections 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the IPC, the pastor was granted bail within days. That FIR remains under contest in the High Court, with the next hearing slated for October 2025.
The string of cases against the D'Souzas underscores broader anxieties over religious conversions in Goa, a state with a unique demographic blend—49% Hindu, 25% Christian, and significant Catholic heritage from Portuguese colonial rule. While Goa enacted a mild "Goa Freedom of Religion Act" in 1968 under Portuguese law, it was largely dormant until recent years. In July 2025, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant reignited calls for a stringent anti-conversion law, proposing penalties of up to seven years' imprisonment and Rs 50,000 fines for mass conversions, and harsher measures—20 years to life—for those involving force, threats, or inducements like "love jihad" (interfaith marriages allegedly for conversion). The proposal, modeled on laws in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, faced fierce opposition in the state assembly from the Congress and AAP, who labeled it "divisive" and a tool for targeting minorities.
Critics, including the All India Catholic Union and the National Commission for Minorities, argue that such laws are often weaponized against Christians and Muslims, with over 90% of cases in similar states ending in acquittals due to lack of evidence. According to the United Christian Forum's 2025 report, Goa recorded 12 incidents of church disruptions or FIRs against clergy this year alone, a 40% spike from 2024, often linked to complaints from fringe Hindu groups. "These aren't about protecting faith; they're about stifling it," said Fr. Savio Fernandes, a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Goa, in a recent interview. The USCIRF has repeatedly flagged India's state-level anti-conversion regimes as enabling "persecution by proxy," recommending U.S. travel bans on officials complicit in such abuses.
As Goa deliberates the proposed law—expected to be tabled in the winter session—the High Court's ruling serves as a cautionary note. Legal experts predict it could bolster challenges to other pending cases, including Pastor Dominic's 2024 arrest. For now, the D'Souzas plan to resume church activities uninterrupted, with Manuel D'Souza vowing to pursue damages for "malicious prosecution." In a state where syncretic traditions like the Sao Joao festival blend Hindu and Christian elements, this verdict reaffirms judicial safeguards against overreach, even as political winds shift toward stricter religious policing.
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