CSITA FAILS Govt.AUDIT:The Church Of England Newspaper.

Church of South India Trust Association fails government audit: The Church of England Newspaper, June 10, 2012 p 6. June 12, 2012

Posted by geoconger in Church of England Newspaper, Church of South India,Corruption. 
Tags: Church of South India Trust Association

An environment conducive to fraud and corruption surrounds the business practices of the Church of South India (CSI), a government investigation has found. A report prepared by auditors from the Indian government’s Registrar of Companies (RoC) listed 27 violations in the management and practices of the Church of South India Trust Association (CSITA).  Unless reforms are immediately implements, the trust that holds title to the church’s property may be liquidated or lose its not-for-profit status.

Charted as a not-for-profit corporation under Section 25 of the Indian Companies Act of 1956, the CSITA is not required to register a minimum share capital, need only maintain business records for the previous four years, and may increase the number of company directors without prior government approval.  In return, the CSITA is required to use its income for the furtherance of the mission and ministry of the CSI and not distribute dividends to its members.

In a report dated 22 May 2012, the RoC notified the members of the CSITA’s management committee that it had concluded the CSITA’s income was not being used for furthering the objects and purposes of the trust.  The Balance Sheet and Income Expenditure statement of the CSITA for the last four years “do not give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company,” the RoC report said.

Nor were transactions properly recorded, the report said as “no details of fixed assets/immovable properties, secured loans, sale of property, sale consideration, purchase of property, receipt of foreign contribution, income and expenditure of other dioceses, units or sub-units reflect in the Balance Sheet and books of accounts of the company.”

The CSI has been plagued by financial scandals in recent years with only “8 or 9” of its 21 current bishops untainted by corruption charges, the lay-led anti-corruption group, the CCC has reported.  Lay leaders have pushed for greater transparency from the bishops and executive committee of the general synod, but have so far been unable to receive an accounting.

On 1 Feb 2010, Dr. John Dorai, the general secretary of the CSITA Beneficiaries Association – a lay advocacy group in the church – filed a complaint requesting the RoC examine the accounts of the CSITA.  The CSITA, through the its secretary, M.M. Philip – who also serves as General Secretary of the CSI – fought the request through the courts.  However in a ruling released on 22 March 2012, Justice S. Rajeswaran of the Madras High Court ordered the CSITA to turn over its records to the RoC.

“Now we know why the CSITA tried so hard to prevent the RoC from doing its statutory duty,” the CCC said after the report was released, stating it was a “scathing indictment of how the church leadership (mis)manages the CSITA.”

“Given the seriousness of the violations unearthed by the RoC, the CSI leadership has no choice now but to put in place mechanisms to adhere strictly to the provisions of the Companies Act,” the CCC said, noting that “any continued violations could attract more stringent penalties including imprisonment.”

The CSITA did not respond to our requests for comments.  But it has been given 10 days to review the findings of the RoC and to offer comments or corrections.  If none are forthcoming the report will be finalized by the RoC.

First published in The Church of England Newspaper.

CSI SYNOD SUSPENDS MEDAK BISHOP

FLASH NEWS: Bishop TKP personally filed a case before the Hon'ble I Junior Civil Judge, City Civil Courts, Secunderabad on 11-06-2012 after his suspension i.e. 09-06-2012 through O.S. No. 299/2012 in which he filed I.A.s 1) Suspend the suspension orders dated 09-06-2012 and 2) not to allow Administrative Committee to take over charge of Diocesan Office and Institutions within the Medak Diocese. These two I.A.s were DISMISSED by the Hon'ble Court on 28-09-2012.
COMMENT: which means Bishop TKP's suspension upheld by the Court and allowed Administrative Committee to take over Diocesan Office and other Institutions within the Medak Diocese.
OPINION: The God Almighty saved Medak Diocese from the clutches of family ruling, goons, illiterates and corruption. Thank you God Almighty.

The CSI Synod has suspended Bishop of Medak Diocese  T.S. Kanaka Prasad (61). In a letter dated 9^th June 2012 (See Annexures 1 and 1.1) to the bishop, the CSI Moderator G. Devakadasham records that the  decision to suspend the bishop was taken at the Synod Executive Committee meeting held on 24^th April 2012  but could not be put into effect due to a court injunction. The court did not extend the injunction when it  expired last week  paving the way for the Moderator to act. The action led to some tensions as reported in thisDeccan Chronicle report http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/cities/hyderabad/two-csi-groups-fight-control-134 and at the time of writing several dozen pastors of the diocese were reportedly sitting in dharna in support of the suspended bishop.

In his letter, the Moderator charges the Medak bishop with “not functioning and discharging the responsibilities of Bishop of CSI Medak Diocese in accordance with the provisions of the constitution of the CSI, the directions of the Synod or its Executive Committee and the Council of Bishops.” He adds that  “In particular it was brought to the notice of the Executive Committee that you [Bishop Kanaka Prasad] are misusing your position as Bishop, acting as attorney of the CSITA even after the lapse of the power of attorney and committing various illegalities in the administration, supervision and preservation of the properties of the Church. The members [of the Synod Executive Committee] expressed shock and anxiety over the same and demanded immediate action against you by the Synod.”

The Moderator’s letter states that the Synod Executive Committee Meeting of 24^th April was suspended for an hour to facilitate a meeting of the Bishop’s Council to discuss the issue and that based on the recommendations of the  Council the Synod Executive decided to suspend the Medak bishop “pending further action in accordance with the Constitution.” Deputy Moderator G. Dyvasirvadam, who is bishop of Krishna Godavari diocese and is also serving as Moderator’s Commissary for Rayalseema Diocese, has been appointed the Moderator’s Commissary for Medak. A nine-member Administrative Committee has been put in place with former Andhra Pradesh Director General  of Police Swaranjit Sen , IPS (Retd), being named Administrative Adviser. Mr Sen, who was close to late Chief Minister Y.S. Rajashekar Reddy, has for some years now been heading a Joint Christian Action Council which has been trying to promote Christian unity even while addressing issues of church-related corruption and mismanagement. Seehttp://indiagateway.net/jcac/who_are_we.php

Medak, one of the biggest dioceses in the CSI which incorporates within it the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad,  is the second richest diocese in the CSI (after Madras) in terms of the value of its property holdings . Bishop Kanaka Prasad has been accused of  widespread corruption and nepotism including giving prime church property on long lease at throwaway prices in return for kickbacks. For instance, the CCC has with it a copy of a lease deed signed by Bishop Kanaka Prasad  on 22^nd November 2010 with one M/S Redeemers Foundation where the 50-bed CSI Hospital in Medak with laboratory, mini-operation theatre, x-ray unit, etc was given on a 30 year lease at a nominal monthly rental of just Rs 500 per month.

Similarly the Bishop has become the signatory of a number of church bank accounts including that of the prestigious nearly 200-year-old St. John’s Church in Secunderabad where he removed the pastor Suresh Kumar who had differences with him, installed his own acolyte as pastor but then decided to induct  himself as the signatory to the church’s bank account (see last line of Bank account opening form inAnnexure 2) . This is against the CSI Constitution which provides that “The bishop of the diocese shall have a general oversight of the financial administration of the diocese but shall not exercise any direct control over the finances.” (Chapter V, Rule 10). To be fair to Kanaka Prasad though, most bishops including the current Moderator and Deputy Moderator of the CSI flagrantly violate this rule while performing their duties as bishops of their respective dioceses. Even Kanaka Prasad’s predecessor as Bishop of Medak, former Moderator B.P Sugandhar, was notorious for treating the diocese and the rest of the CSI as his personal fiefdom and committing acts of corruption on a scale that has few parallels in Indian church history.

The current crisis in Medak first erupted late last year when Bishop Prasad violated the Constitution while holding Diocesan Council elections by excluding a substantial number of pastors and lay persons. He even ignored the Constitutional provision that office bearers could not serve more than two consecutive terms. The Synod refused to recognize the election and Bishop Prasad had to get a court order to get his diocesan representatives  into the 33^rd Synod session at Kanyakumari last January where they voted against the current Moderator Devakadasham and his deputy Dyvasirvadam and in favour of their opponents. In fact the opponents of Kanaka Prasad had put up posters at the venue of the Synod (see picture below) urging that an administrative committee be appointed to run the Medak diocese. The Synod Executive held in Chennai on 14^th & 15^th February 2012 authorised the new Moderator and his team to appoint an Administrative Committee to run the diocese but Bishop Prasad took the matter to court and had it stayed.

While the case against Bishop Prasad may rest on a solid foundation, what is disconcerting is the double standards being applied by the current synod adminstration in handling cases of Episcopal corruption. The Moderator informed the Synod Executive Committee meeting mentioned above that he had given the Rayalaseema Bishop, against whom an official investigation had revealed serious cases of corruption ( see CCC Newsletter No 46: Bishop Yesu Varaprasad -- Satan's Gift to the CSI. December 22, 2011), a choice to either“answer the documents regarding administrative, ministerial and financial lapses,” on his part or “to take voluntary leave allowing the Synod to take over the administration.” The bishop opted for the latter just a month before he was to retire and went away secure in the knowledge he would get the bishop’s pension for the rest of his life and get to keep his huge ill-gotten wealth without having to answer for his serious crimes against the church. It can only be in the CSI that the Synod Executive does not pull up the Moderator for making such an unholy deal and allowing a criminal bishop to go scot free.

In January Bishop Manickam Dorai of Coimbatore was sacked by former Moderator S. Vasanthakumar  in a historic first for the CSI. This after Bishop Dorai accused his fellow judges in the Synod Court that was trying him of also being corrupt themselves and hence having no moral authority to sit in judgement over him.  Had Bishop Dorai meekly sought forgiveness, instead of speaking the truth about many of his fellow bishops,  it is likely he too would have been allowed to get away with his heinous crimes against the church.

The double standard being practiced by the current Synod dispensation is also glaring in the case of Bishop B.S. Devamani of Dornakal -- a small town in Warangal district of Andhra Pradesh that was the seat of the first-ever  Indian protestant bishop V.S. Azaraiah back in the 1920s -- who was allowed to retire quietly despite serious charges of corruption and sexual harassment against him. Apart from news reports like this one http://telugufirst.com/ap-news/editors-choice/3403-dornakal-bishops-visit-to-mahbubnagar-opposed.html the CSITA itself recorded at its Committee of Management meeting on 18^th July 2011 that Bishop Devamani had, among other offences, sold 7.24 acres of a Mango garden without an enabling resolution from the Diocesan Council, and some more land without CSITA permission (see Annexures3 & 3.1 showing relevant pages from CSITA meeting minutes). It took a legal notice on diocesan office bearers from some vigilant laity to prevent Bishop Devamani from walking away with a parting retirement gift of Rs 40 lakhs from the diocese including a top end luxury car. Is it only a coincidence that both the Rayalseema and Dornakal bishops who  supported Moderator Devakadasham and his deputy Dyvasirvadam at the Synod polls in January have got away with their crimes while Bishop Kanaka Prasad who supported their opponents (the Bishops of Madras and Karimnagar) has had punitive action taken against him?

Three days after suspending Bishop Prasad both the Moderator and Deputy Moderator will be attending the consecration of the new Bishop of Dornakal Vadapalli Prasada Rao that is scheduled for 12^th June 2012. Mercifully the tainted Devamani’s choice to be his successor did not make it in the final selection and it is to be hoped  the new bishop, who informed sources say is a reasonably good man,  will not follow the corrupt path of his predecessor.  

CCC Prayer: Lord Jesus, we thank you that in the last six months unprecedented punitive action has been taken against some corrupt bishops. Even so, many other corrupt ones have been allowed to get away scot free.  We pray Lord thou will ensure justice is done in the case of all those who have committed serious crimes against your church and that those among the current leadership who may be guilty are also brought to book in due course. In thy precious name we pray. Amen. 

courtesy-CCC(Christ centered campaign)