Two Kerala-based nuns, who were arrested in Chhattisgarh’s Bilaspur district on charges related to human trafficking and alleged forced religious conversion, have been granted conditional bail by a local court on Saturday.
The case had been registered under Section 143 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 3 of the Orissa Freedom of Religion Act, 1967.
Advocate Gopa Kumar, appearing for the nuns, said, “We argued that Section 143 of BNS was wrongly applied. The court accepted our plea and granted bail. Each nun must furnish a bond of ₹50,000 and is prohibited from leaving the country.”
The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is involved in aspects of the case, also confirmed the bail order and added that the court had imposed strict conditions to prevent interference in the investigation.
The bail hearing was conducted on Friday in a special NIA court in Bilaspur, where the defence contended that there was no substantial evidence linking the nuns to forced conversion or trafficking. The court had reserved its decision for Saturday.
The nuns were arrested on July 25 at Durg Railway Station, allegedly while accompanying tribal girls to the city for employment.
Their arrest has sparked political backlash in Kerala, with both the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) accusing the BJP-led Chhattisgarh government of suppressing religious freedom.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor condemned the arrests as a “grave injustice,” stating, “They were simply helping tribal girls find employment. The arrest followed false alarm raised by Bajrang Dal members.”
Tharoor also criticized the BJP’s Kerala unit for failing to take meaningful action despite announcing plans to secure the nuns’ release.
The case remains under investigation.
