No jurisdiction to hear bail pleas of nuns held on human trafficking, conversion charges: Chhattisgarh court

Durg: A sessions court in Chhattisgarh's Durg district on Wednesday said it does not have the jurisdiction to hear the bail applications of the two nuns arrested in the state on charges of human trafficking and religious conversion.

The court, while disposing of the bail pleas, said they may have to move a special court for relief. 

Nuns Preethi Merry and Vandana Francis along with Sukaman Mandavi were arrested by the Government Railway Police (GRP) at the Durg railway station in Chhattisgarh on July 25 following a complaint by a local Bajrang Dal functionary, who accused them of forcibly converting three women from the state's tribal-dominated Narayanpur district and trafficking them.

The sessions court disposed of the bail application of the nuns observing that it does not have the jurisdiction to hear cases under section 143 (human trafficking) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and that they may have to move a special court for further legal action, lawyer Rajkumar Tiwari told PTI.

The two Catholic nuns hailing from Kerala are currently lodged in the Durg central jail.