CBCI 37th GBM: Catholic body reaffirms commitment to India's constitutional values
Bengaluru: The 37th General Body Meeting (GBM) of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) was inaugurated on February 4, 2026, at St John’s National Academy of Health Sciences in Bengaluru by Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli, Apostolic Nuncio to India and Nepal.
Organised under the theme “Faith and the Nation: The Church’s Witness to India’s Constitutional Vision,” the gathering reflects the CBCI motto “United in Witness.”
Grounded in the Gospel and inspired by the love of Christ, the CBCI continues its mission of strengthening faith, fostering unity among India’s diverse communities, and promoting justice, peace, and social harmony.
More than 200 bishops representing 174 dioceses from across the country have assembled for prayer, reflection, and deliberation on matters of national and ecclesial importance. The General Body Meeting began at 9.00 a.m. with a solemn Eucharistic Celebration, during which Rev. Dr. Mathew Koyickal, Deputy Secretary General of the CBCI, welcomed the participants.
The principal celebrant, Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli, in his homily, called upon the bishops to be the light and salt of the earth, enriched with the fruits of the Holy Spirit. He urged the shepherds of the Church to remain joyful, kind, faithful, and humble servants in the Lord’s mission, witnessing Christ’s human love through outreach to the poor and the marginalized.
The Eucharistic celebration was concelebrated by senior Church leaders, including Archbishop Mar Andrews Thazhath, President of the CBCI; Cardinal Filip Neri Ferrao, President of the CCBI; His Beatitude Mar Raphael Thattil, Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church; Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malankara Church; Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop Emeritus of Bombay; Archbishop George Antonysamy, Vice-President I; Archbishop Joseph Mar Thomas, Vice-President II; and Archbishop Anil Joseph Thomas Couto, Secretary General of the CBCI.
The inaugural session commenced at 11.00 a.m. with the ceremonial lighting of the lamp, invoking God’s blessings on the deliberations. The Archbishop of Bangalore, the host of the meeting, welcomed the gathering and noted that the chosen theme reflects the Church’s deep-rooted commitment to the values enshrined in the Constitution of India. Archbishop George Antonysamy read out the message of the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV.
In his inaugural address, Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli conveyed the Apostolic Blessings of the Holy Father and observed that the ideals expressed in the Preamble of the Constitution of India resonate strongly with the Church’s social teachings. He noted that despite contemporary challenges, the Church continues to serve the nation through humane development and by contributing to the moral conscience of society, urging Church leaders to seek new ways to live and practise faith in harmony with constitutional values.
Delivering the Presidential Address, Archbishop Mar Andrews Thazhath stated that the Church stands at a critical moment where conscience is being tested and faith is increasingly examined in the public sphere. He described the theme as both a profound spiritual confession and a public responsibility, calling upon bishops to be missionaries of hope and empowerment.
Referring to emerging technologies, particularly Artificial Intelligence, he stressed the need to humanise technology and ensure that the human person remains at the centre, urging the Church to become “digital missionaries.” He also emphasised the importance of deepening the synodal journey, forming leaders for public life, and empowering the laity, youth, and women.
The Biennial Report of the CBCI, covering the period from February 2024 to January 2026, was presented by Archbishop Anil J.T. Couto. On the occasion, thirty-one newly appointed bishops were felicitated by the Apostolic Nuncio with a shawl and memento, followed by a solemn observance of silence in memory of bishops who had passed away.
Messages from Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Oriental Churches, and Cardinal Luis Antonio G. Tagle, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, were read out. The session concluded with a vote of thanks proposed by Archbishop Joseph Mar Thomas, Vice-President II of the CBCI, after which Rev. Fr. Jesudoss Rajamanickam, Director of St John’s National Academy of Health Sciences, briefed the participants on guidelines for their stay on the campus.
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High courts upheld only 8 per cent of death sentences; SC confirms none in recent years: Report
New Delhi (PTI): Highlighting that a high acquittal rate of death row convicts by the Supreme Court and high courts demonstrates a pattern of "erroneous or unjustified convictions", a study of 10 years of death penalty data has revealed that the top court did not confirm any death sentences in recent years.
The study by Square Circle Clinic, a criminal laws advocacy group with the NALSAR University of Law in Hyderabad, found that an overwhelming majority of death sentences imposed by trial courts did not withstand scrutiny at higher judicial levels. Acquittals far outnumbered confirmations at both the high courts and Supreme Court levels.
According to the report, the trial courts across India awarded 1,310 death sentences in 822 cases between 2016 and 2025. High courts considered 842 of these sentences in confirmation proceedings but upheld only 70 or 8.31 per cent.
In contrast, 258 death sentences (30.64 per cent) resulted in acquittals. The study noted that the acquittal rate at the high court level was nearly four times the confirmation rate.
Data showed that of the 70 death sentences confirmed by high courts, the Supreme Court decided 38 and did not uphold a single one. The apex court has confirmed no death sentences between 2023 and 2025.
"Wrongful or erroneous or unjustified convictions, then, are not random or freak accidents in the Indian criminal justice system. The data indicates they are a persistent and serious systemic concern," the report said.
Over the last decade, high courts adjudicated 1,085 death sentences in 647 cases, confirming only 106 (9.77 per cent). During this period, 326 persons in 191 cases, were acquitted.
The report attributed low confirmation rates to the appellate judiciary’s concerns regarding failures in due process. "This coincides with increased Supreme Court scrutiny of safeguards at the sentencing stage," the report said.
Of the 153 death sentences decided by the apex court over the last decade, the accused were acquitted in 38 cases. In 2025 alone, high courts overturned death sentences into acquittals in 22 out of 85 cases (over 25 per cent). The same year, Supreme Court acquitted accused persons in more than half of the death penalty cases it decided (10 out of 19), the report said.
The study highlighted that 364 persons who were ultimately acquitted "should not even have been convicted and unjustifiably suffered the trauma of death row". It added that such failures extend beyond adjudication and reflect serious lapses in investigation and prosecution.
The question of remedies for wrongful convictions remains pending before the Supreme Court. In September 2025, three persons acquitted by the apex court filed writ petitions seeking compensation from the state and argued that their wrongful convictions violated their fundamental right to life and liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.
"In 2022, the Supreme Court crystallised a sentencing process in Manoj v. State of Madhya Pradesh , and mandated all courts to follow those guidelines before imposing or confirming a death sentence," the report read.
In 2025, the apex court held in Vasanta Sampat Dupare v. Union of India that death penalty sentencing hearings form part of the right to a fair trial and stressed that capital punishment can be imposed only after a constitutionally compliant sentencing process.
"However, even at the high courts whether the process mandated under Manoj is being complied with is in doubt,” the report said.
