Sanal Edamaruku, President of the Indian Rationalist Association, is a tireless campaigner for science and against superstition. He is widely known for his exposure of the tricks used by self-professed God-Men and gurus and has often been on Indian television explaining the everyday science behind supposed miracles. After one such exposure he pointed out that the blood oozing from a statue of Christ at the Catholic Church of Our Lady of Velan Kanni in Vile Parle, Mumbai was in fact water from a leaky pipe the Catholic Church of Mumbai made a formal complaint about him to the Mumbai police. He stands accused of deliberately hurting religious feelings and attempting malicious acts intended to outrage the religious sentiments of any class or community, an offence under Section 295(a) of the Indian Penal Code. No arrest warrant has been issued but the case is “cognisable” meaning the police can arrest without warrant at any time. He has been denied ‘anticipatory’ bail which means if arrested he faces a long term in prison merely for explaining the science behind an apparent mystery.

The Rationalist Association of the UK has begun a petition addressed to the Catholic Archdiocese of Bombay to withdraw their complaint against Sanal Edamaruku. Please click here to sign it.