No bail for jailed nuns as Chhattisgarh court cites jurisdiction issues2Photo© thehindu.com

No bail for jailed nuns as Chhattisgarh court cites jurisdiction issues

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A Sessions Court in Chhattisgarh’s Durg district on Wednesday (July 30, 2025) disposed of the bail applications of the two nuns and a Narayanpur resident — who were arrested last week on charges of human trafficking and forcible religious conversion — observing that it did not have the jurisdiction to hear the matter. The court said it could not go into the merits of the case.

In his order, Additional Sessions Judge Anish Dubey cited Section 11 of the National Investigation Agency Act 2008 to point out the jurisdiction issue and ordered the applicants — nuns Preethi Mary and Vandana Francis, and Sukman Mandavi — to move a special court for relief.

The court noted that Section 2(1)(g) of the NIA Act, 2008 contains a separate Schedule that includes Section 370 of the now abolished Indian Penal Code, 1860. It further added that Section 143 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, 2023 [that the applicants are accused of violating] pertains to “trafficking of a person” which is similar to Section 370 IPC. Citing Chhattisgarh government orders to list courts that have been given the jurisdiction to hear such cases in different divisions, it said that the applicants move the designated court.