A lower court today dismissed a private petition seeking criminal prosecution of American missionary Joseph W Cooper, who was injured in an attack by alleged RSS men in a south Kerala village on January 13, for "violating visa rules and hurting religious sentiments".
The case, filed by Viswa Hindu Parishad district secretary K Sughathan, seeking prosecution of the missionary under Sections 295(A) and 298 of the IPC, was dismissed by the Attingal Second Class Judicial Magistrate Court which ruled that the petition was not maintainable.
Rev Cooper had left the country yesterday following a seven-day ultimatum given by the police.
The complainant alleged that Rev Cooper, who was on a tourist visa, had violated visa provisions by engaging himself in religious preaching. His speech at a gospel convention near Kilimanoor had hurt the religious sentiments of a majority of people in the locality, he claimed.