The Kerala high court on Wednesday rejected the anticipatory bail petitions of three priests of a church accused of raping a woman, ruling that the charges against them were serious and the relief, if granted at an early stage of investigation, will adversely affect its progress.

The priests - Abraham Varghese alias Sony, Job Mathew and Jaise K George - had approached the court soon after the crime branch slapped rape charges against four of the five Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church priests, who were accused of sexually exploiting the victim.