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Former Church of South India Moderator Arrested and Jailed on Corruption Charges
By Rev. Dr. Joseph Muthuraj
Special to VIRTUEONLINE
www.virtueonline.org
December 11, 2018
The former Moderator of the Church of South India, The Most Rev. Bishop G. Dyvasirvadom, has been arrested and jailed on numerous criminal charges of corruption, including the sale of church properties and keeping the money for himself.
A warrant was issued for his arrest. Police sought him for three weeks as he tried to escape arrest. According to the Police blotter, Dyvasirvadom was found hiding in darkness in his own house. Police observed a flicker of light inside the house, broke in and arrested the former Anglican primate (moderator).
Police went to the house in the early morning under the guise of milkmen to deliver milk, broke in and arrested the bishop. A court in Vijayawada, Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh remanded him in custody and sent him to the Ganavaram jail for 15 days, following a medical check-up. The court deemed him fit to go to prison. According to Indian law, he will not be permitted to leave prison until Christmas Eve, when he can apply for bail.
UPDATE: The court has issued an order dated 11 December 2018 that the Moderator of the CSI Synod and the General Secretary of the CSI Synod or their commissaries are RESTRAINED from conducting Diocesan Councils/elections in any of the Dioceses of CSI and from in any way interfering in the administration of the dioceses of the CSI until 28.01.2019. This clearly means that all diocesan elections conducted on or after 11 December are illegal and all decisions taken since 11 December are invalid. Both of them are fully inoperational until 28 January 2019.
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