Delegation of Left MPs meet the arrested nuns; Priyanka Gandhi, other UDF MPs protest in Parliament.
Published Jul 30, 2025 | 2:32 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 30, 2025 | 2:32 PM
A delegation of LDF MPs met the nuns on Wednesday.
Synopsis: The court refused to consider the bail, saying the charges against the nuns were serious. The nuns have been asked to approach the high court. Meanwhile, the possibility of an NIA court taking up the case cannot be ruled out.
A sessions court in Chhattisgarh on Wednesday, 30 July, refused to consider the bail applications of two Malayali nuns, arrested on charges of forced religious conversion and human trafficking.
The court refused the applications of sisters Vandana Francis and Preeta Mary of the order of the Assisi Sisters of Mary Immaculate, saying the first information report mentioned serious charges. The nuns were asked to approach the High Court of Chhattisgarh, Bilaspur.
Bajrang Dal activists, who gathered outside the court, celebrated as the court refused the bail applications. They raised slogans and staged a protest, demanding that the nuns should not be granted bail under any circumstances. Bajrang Dal leaders, including Jyoti Sharma, were present at the court, where dramatic scenes unfolded.
Later, a lawyer associated with the group told the media that the case would now be taken over by an NIA court in Bilaspur. More details are awaited.
Adv Sister Helen, who is coordinating the legal team, told South First that further proceedings will depend on the report of the Rule Committee.
She noted that under the latest amendment related to human trafficking, the NIA has the authority to take over such cases.
Further decisions will be taken only after detailed legal consultation.
Meanwhile, a delegation of LDF MPs and Left leaders met the two nuns at the Durg jail on Wednesday.
Sister Vandana Francis from Thalassery and Sister Preethi Mary from Angamaly, who were arrested in Chhattisgarh.
The Left leaders later alleged that the nuns are being subjected to inhumane treatment, including being denied basic facilities and forced to sleep on the floor despite having health issues.
They claimed the arrest was based on fabricated and politically motivated charges aimed at targeting minorities.
Highlighting the seriousness of the case, Rajya Sabha MP Jose K Mani and others in the delegation demanded that the FIR against the nuns be quashed, terming it unconstitutional and unjust.
They also urged the government to apologise for the mistreatment and wrongful arrest.
The leaders further alleged that additional charges, including human trafficking, were added after the police identified the three accompanying girls as Christians.
They described the entire case as an abuse of power and a clear violation of constitutional rights. The delegation was denied permission to meet the nuns on Tuesday, which drew sharp criticism from CPI(M) leaders, who viewed the denial as an attempt to silence dissent.
The Hindu reported that the prison authorities assured the LDF delegation that the nuns would be shifted to the district hospital.
A Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) team reached Raipur from Delhi on Wednesday, 30 July. The delegation includes members from the legal, women’s, and tribal departments of the CBCI.
In New Delhi, UDF MPs, led by Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, staged a protest in Parliament against the nuns’ arrest.
The Chhattisgarh police had arrested the nuns at the Durg railway station on 25 July after pro-Hindu Bajrang Dal activists accused them of attempting to take away three women, including a tribal, to Agra for “forced conversion to Christianity”.
Besides the nuns, a tribesman, identified as Sukaman Mandavi was also arrested. They have been charged with Section 143 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for trafficking and under Section 4 of the Chhattisgarh Religious Freedom Act, 1968, punishable with imprisonment of up to 10 years and a fine of ₹2 lakh.
The arrests of the nuns quickly snowballed into a political flashpoint, with both the ruling LDF and the Opposition UDF protesting the act of the Chhattisgarh police. The BJP in Kerala found itself in a fix following the arrest, since it has been trying to woo Christian votes ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad in Kerala, meanwhile, said it was not against the nuns getting bail.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
