Chhattisgarh court reserves bail order for Kerala nuns

Bilaspur/Durg: A special NIA court in Chhattisgarh on Friday reserved its order on the bail plea of three individuals, two Catholic nuns from Kerala and a tribal woman, who were arrested on charges of human trafficking and forced religious conversion. The order is expected on Saturday.

What has provoked national outrage is not only the nature of the arrests, but the Union Government’s reversal of its stated position. Earlier this week, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had told MPs from Kerala that the government would not oppose the bail application in this case, widely viewed as sensitive and politically charged. However, on Friday, the prosecution appeared in court and did precisely the opposite, arguing that the case was still in the early stages of investigation and that bail should be denied.

The arrests were made on July 25 at Durg railway station, after a local Bajrang Dal functionary filed a complaint accusing the three women, Sisters Preethi Mary and Vandana Francis, and Sukaman Mandavi, of trafficking and forcibly converting three girls from Narayanpur district. The police acted swiftly, and the women were detained without any request for custodial interrogation.

In court, defence lawyer Amrito Das argued that the case was baseless. He stated that all three girls are legal adults, have long practiced Christianity, and were travelling to work in a Christian missionary hospital with the consent of their parents. Das told the court that the alleged victims had not claimed any coercion, and had already been sent back to their homes.

Despite this, the public prosecutor opposed the bail plea, contradicting the assurance made by Amit Shah just days earlier. This has led to serious questions about whether the Union Government is bowing to pressure from right-wing groups at the cost of justice and minority rights.

Opposition leaders and civil society groups have condemned the arrests and the prosecution’s stance as targeted harassment of religious minorities, especially Christians working in tribal areas. Critics say the case is part of a broader pattern of vilifying missionary work and portraying voluntary conversions as criminal acts.

The case has sparked nationwide protests. Leaders of the All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA), including president P K Sreemathi and CPI M Central Committee member C S Sujatha, visited Durg on Friday in support of the arrested nuns. They met Sister Vandana’s brother, Joseph Mathew, and the nuns in jail, assured their full backing for the legal fight ahead.

CPI M MPs John Brittas and P Sandosh Kumar also visited Durg to review the situation.

The arrest and continued detention of the nuns, despite clear evidence that the girls involved were acting of their own will, has drawn attention to what critics believe is a deliberate and systemic attempt to intimidate minority communities through legal overreach.