A CBI court in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday discharged Fr Jose Poothrukkayil from the list of accused in the Sister Abhaya murder case.
The court dismissed discharge pleas by two others - first accused Fr Thomas M Kottur and third accused Sister Sephy - and ordered them to face trial, marking a significant turn in the case's 26-year history.
The body of the 19-year-old nun was found in the well of Pius X Convent in Kottayam, on March 27, 1992.
The police initially closed the case, calling it a suicide. The CBI arrested the accused in 2008 and a chargesheet was filed a year later.
The agency charged the three accused with murder, destruction of evidence and other offences.
The court upheld the contention that there was no evidence to establish the involvement of Fr Poothrukkayil, the second accused, in the murder or his presence in the convent on the day the incident happened.
The CBI chargesheet said Sr Abhaya, an inmate of the convent, was assaulted by the accused with an axe after she reportedly witnessed them in a compromising position.
Her body was dumped in the well. In January this year, former Crime Branch SP K T Michael was arraigned as fourth accused in the case for reportedly destroying evidence during initial stages of the probe.
Speaking with a Malayalam television channel, Fr Poothrukkayil termed the verdict one with "god's signature" and said the long legal battle ran concurrently with a spiritual battle.
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