PANAJI
Pastor Domnic D’Souza and his wife Joan of Five Pillars Church in Siolim, both of whom are booked in a series of offences for allegedly carrying out religious conversion and black magic, have filed a petition in the High Court of Bombay at Goa challenging externment proceedings initiated against them by North Goa Collector.
Domnic appeared before the Collector on Friday evening in response to the summons. While the next hearing is scheduled for January 19, Domnic’s counsel said this was his client's first appearance.
Superintendent of Police (North Goa) Nidhin Valsan had submitted a report to the Collector on January 4 seeking externment proceedings against the pastor and his wife. The police recommended screening the couple for the "maximum period."
On January 1, Mapusa police filed a fresh case against the couple under sections 153-A (promoting disharmony or enmity between religious groups), 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage reliÂgious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or reliÂgious beliefs), 506 (ii) (criminal intimidation) read with 34 (common intention) of IPC I, and Sections 3, 4, 7 of The Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act 1954.
This is the right FIR against the pastor and his arrest in the case also came nearly six months after the High Court had quashed and set aside the North Goa Collector’s order dated December 12, 2022, banning him and his wife from carrying out religious activities.
