Kerala Nuns Granted Bail After Week-Long Ordeal In Chhattisgarh Jail
Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh: Sister Vandana Francis and Sister Preethy Mary of the Assisi Sisters of Mary Immaculate (ASMI) have been granted bail by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Saturday.
The two Catholic nuns had spent over a week in judicial custody after being arrested on serious charges of human trafficking and forced religious conversion.
The bail hearing was conducted by Principal District and Sessions Judge Sirajuddin Qureshi, presiding over the special NIA court in Bilaspur.
The court imposed conditions, including surrendering their passports, furnishing a ₹50,000 bond, and having two sureties. The prosecution had opposed the bail, citing an ongoing investigation.
The court’s decision brought a wave of emotional catharsis to supporters, church leaders, and rights activists, who had decried the arrest as an instance of political vendetta and religious persecution.
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The arrest of the two nuns on July 25 at Durg railway station, while escorting three tribal girls from Narayanpur to Agra for employment in a convent-run hospital, had sparked widespread protests and condemnation.
Bajrang Dal activists had intercepted the group, alleging that the nuns were attempting forced conversions — claims vehemently denied by the ASMI congregation and church authorities.
Despite Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s assurance to Kerala MPs that the Chhattisgarh government would not oppose their bail, prosecutors had, just a day earlier, strongly resisted the plea.
Across Kerala and among Christian communities nationwide, the arrest had triggered an extraordinary mobilisation of solidarity. Nuns from the ASMI congregation, as well as other religious orders across India and abroad, had engaged in fasting and prayer vigils.
Sr Isbel Francis, Superior General of ASMI, who rushed to Chhattisgarh to stand by the imprisoned nuns, said the entire congregation was in tears upon hearing the news. “This is not just about our sisters. This is about religious freedom, dignity, and justice in India,” she said.
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Sr Isbel highlighted the sisters’ long history of service in Narayanpur, where the ASMI-run Assisi Shanti Health Centre — established in 1976 and later expanded into a full-fledged hospital in 2015 — remains the only medical facility for the underprivileged tribal communities in the region.
The ruling LDF and opposition UDF united in outrage, staging protests in Parliament and across the state. Senior leaders such as A.A. Rahim, K.C. Venugopal, Brinda Karat, Sashi Tharoor and Cardinal Baselios Cleemis called the charges “fabricated” and “deeply communal.”
Joined Kerala MPs in protesting the arrest of innocent nuns in Chhattisgarh as a result of mob rule by the Bajrang Dal. Called for the goons to be arrested, rather than the nuns.
I had already raised the issue with two central ministers on Sunday and Monday, seeking their… pic.twitter.com/vtMke9ASjz
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) July 29, 2025
Cardinal Cleemis had led a silent march to Raj Bhavan, with protesters gagging themselves in symbolic protest against the silencing of Christian voices. “These nuns are the pride of our nation. Their only ‘crime’ is serving the poor,” he said.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had also raised the issue in Parliament, demanding immediate intervention and accusing the BJP government in Chhattisgarh of enabling mob-driven justice.
Legal experts and rights activists warn that this case reflects a growing trend of criminalising minority-led charitable work under the guise of conversion laws.
The nuns were booked under Section 143 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 4 of the Chhattisgarh Religious Freedom Act, which carry stringent penalties, despite no credible evidence of coercion or conversion.
