Madras High Court cancels FIR against bishop over discrepancy in baptism certificate

5 min readNew DelhiJul 30, 2026 02:36 PM IST The Madras High Court observed that even the pope was aware about the discrepancy and had issued a clarification letter about it. (AI-generated Image)The Madras High Court recently held that merely because the name varied in the baptism certificate from the “secular” official records, someone cannot be accused of falsifying the document and cancelled the FIR against a bishop accused of fabricating the baptism certificate for being consecrated as bishop of the Diocese of Kumbakonam. Justice R Vijayakumar noted that a birth certificate of the petitioner was issued in 2003 and on that basis the birth certificate was incorporated by way of amendment in the baptism register. “This incorporation, in law, cannot render the baptism certificate a fabrica