Daijiworld Media Network - Raipur/Thiruvananthapuram
Raipur/Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 30: In a significant legal setback, a sessions court in Durg on Wednesday declined to hear the bail plea of two Kerala-based nuns, citing lack of jurisdiction under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act. The court advised the petitioners to move the NIA-designated bench of the Chhattisgarh High Court in Bilaspur instead.
The nuns, Sister Preeti Mary and Sister Vandana Francis of the Assisi Sisters of Mary Immaculate from Kerala’s Alappuzha district, remain in judicial custody in Durg jail. They were arrested on July 26 along with a male companion, Sukhman Mandavi, while accompanying three women from Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district to Agra for work at a convent hospital.
Before the court proceedings began, Bajrang Dal activists gathered outside the Durg court, raising slogans and accusing the nuns of involvement in human trafficking and forced religious conversions — claims that Church leaders and politicians have strongly denied. The atmosphere grew tense as news broke of the court's decision, prompting celebrations among the gathered activists.
Despite persistent arguments from the nuns’ legal team, the court ruled it lacked the authority to entertain the matter due to its classification under the NIA Act. Advocate Jaiswal, appearing in court, confirmed that only the High Court’s designated NIA bench could take up the case.
The arrest has sparked widespread outrage in Kerala and drawn national attention. MPs from the state raised the issue in both houses of Parliament, although it wasn’t taken up for discussion. Protests erupted across party lines, with both the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) staging demonstrations.
In Delhi, a delegation of UDF MPs met Union Home Minister Amit Shah to raise concerns. AICC General Secretary K.C. Venugopal condemned the arrests in the Lok Sabha and accused the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister of enabling mob justice. In a post on X, Venugopal called the incident a “brutal attack by Bajrang Dal goons” and slammed the BJP for its “duplicity” in its treatment of Christians.
CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat, along with MPs A.A. Rahim, K. Radhakrishnan, and Jose K. Mani, visited the jailed nuns, calling the charges fabricated and the arrests politically motivated. “This is nothing but a targeted attack on the Christian community. The nuns are innocent, and this injustice must end,” Karat said.
Meanwhile, Church leaders and Christian organizations in Kerala have called for state-wide protests. Congress leaders, including KPCC President K. Sudhakaran and Opposition Leader V.D. Satheesan, led a march to the Kerala Raj Bhavan demanding immediate intervention from the Centre.
“These sisters are known for their selfless service. What’s happening is a shameful misuse of power and a betrayal of constitutional values,” Satheesan told reporters.
Later in the evening, members of the Christian clergy and civil society planned a protest march to the Raj Bhavan, expressing solidarity with the imprisoned nuns.
With the sessions court deferring jurisdiction, the next legal steps now depend on how quickly the matter can be taken up by the High Court. Until then, Sisters Preeti and Vandana remain behind bars, as the political and religious tensions around the case continue to escalate.