In a blow to two Kerala-based nuns who are presently in Durg jail, a sessions court on Wednesday refused to hear their plea for bail, ordering the petitioners to move the NIA-assigned bench of the Chhattisgarh High Court at Bilaspur. The court held that it had no jurisdiction to entertain the bail application in the case, which is under investigation under the provisions of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act. In spite of persistent requests from the nuns' lawyer, the court rejected the plea.
A few moments before the sessions court started hearing the case, a batch of Bajrang Dal activists had gathered outside and began raising slogans against the nuns and how they were attempting to hush up a case that, in their opinion, was one of human trafficking and religious conversion by coercion.
Ravi Nigam is the complainant in this case. Five lawyers appeared on his behalf in court throughout the hearing.
Advocate Jaiswal, who was in court, stated the sessions court is not capable of hearing the case and requested them to proceed to the High Court. At the time the news broke, the Bajrang Dal activists, who were outside the court, burst out celebrating.
Also read: Priyanka Gandhi backs protest over nuns’ arrest in Chhattisgarh
The matter was brought up in both Parliament houses, albeit not taken up for discussion. Previously, all Kerala MPs had protested outside parliament. Subsequently, Congress-led UDF MPs requested a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and apprised him of the situation.
Senior legislators, including AICC general secretary KC Venugopal, have requested a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to put the issue before him.
Venugopal, while speaking in the Lok Sabha, alleged this is a burning issue in Kerala. Centre has to intervene since the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister is not playing responsibly, he added.
"Spoke in Parliament calling for the immediate release of Sister Vandana and Sister Preethi, who were attacked by Bajrang Dal goons in Durg in Chhattisgarh and subsequently arrested by the police for no reason. Instead of standing up for the Constitution, the Chhattisgarh CM is giving credence to the mob narrative of taking the law into their own hands for their hate agenda. The PM and Kerala Bharatiya Janata Party speak volumes about their new-found love for Christians, but in fact, have venom in their hearts against minorities," Venugopal wrote on X.
During the day, a group of CPI(M) politburo member Brinda Karat and MPs AA Rahim, K Radhakrishnan, and Jose K Mani met the nuns in custody. Karat protested the arrest, terming it a clear case of planted charges.
"The nuns are absolutely innocent. This is a vindictive action against Christians. We call for their immediate release and dismissal of the case," she maintained.
Back home in Kerala, the ruling LDF and the opposition Congress-led UDF staged independent demonstrations. Top Congress leaders such as KPCC president K Sudhakaran and Opposition Leader VD Satheesan took out a procession to the Kerala Raj Bhavan, seeking immediate action. "This is unacceptable. These nuns are known for their humanitarian activities. The Centre needs to act firmly," said Satheesan.
Later in the evening, Church leaders and members of the Christian community held a protest march to the Raj Bhavan.
The two nuns — Sister Preeti Mary and Sister Vandana Francis — belong to the Assisi Sisters of Mary Immaculate, a congregation under the Syro-Malabar Church in Alappuzha district. They had been working at a hospital in Agra.
While travelling with three women from Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district to Agra for employment as kitchen assistants in a convent on July 26, the nuns and one man, Sukhman Mandavi, were intercepted at a Chhattisgarh railway station by Bajrang Dal activists and subsequently arrested by police.
They were made to be presented in front of a local court and placed in judicial custody. With the sessions court now referring the case to the High Court, the nuns will be kept in prison till further orders.
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