Interim Bail To Father Kotur And Sister Safi Convicted In Sister Abhaya Murder Case: Kerala HC

D.D: 23 JUNE 2022

Thursday, the Kerala High Court granted Father Thomas Kottoor and Sister Sephy's petition to suspend their sentence in the notorious Sister Abhaya case [Father Thomas Kottoor v. Central Bureau of Investigation].

A division bench comprised of Justices K Vinod Chandran and C Jayachandran issued the order granting them interim bail on the condition that they post 5 lakh in cash and two sureties in the same amount.

The order stated, "On the basis of the evidence presented by the defence and not effectively refuted by the prosecution, we cannot but release the two accused as an interim measure, suspending their sentence pending the outcome of their appeal."

The court has imposed the following conditions:

The petitioners/ accused shall be released on bail upon execution of a bond for 5,00,000 each with two solvent sureties, each in the like amount, to the satisfaction of the trial court; If the conviction and sentence of the petitioners/ appellants is upheld or even modified, the time during which they were so released shall be excluded in computing the term of their sentence as provided in Section 389(4) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC); They shall not indulge in any other criminal activity.

A CBI Judge in Thiruvananthapuram convicted Kottoor and Sister Sephy, a nun from Pius Convent Kottayam, in December 2020 for the murder of 20-year-old nun Sister Abhaya.

They were subsequently sentenced to life in prison and ordered to pay a 5 lakh fine each. Additionally, Father Kottoor was ordered to pay 1 lakh for house trespass.

Sister Abhaya was discovered murdered in a convent in the Kottayam district of Kerala more than 28 years prior to the CBI Court's decision.

Her body was discovered in the convent's well on March 27,1992. Before it was finally tried in court, the case underwent a number of unexpected turns.

In 1993, the State police filed a report concluding that it was a suicide. The case was then transferred to the CBI after activist Jomon Puthenpurackal filed a lawsuit.

In 1996, however, the CBI filed a report stating that it was unable to determine whether the death was a homicide or a suicide. However, the court rejected the same and ordered a new investigation.

A year later, the CBI determined that the case was indeed a homicide, but there was insufficient evidence to proceed with the trial.

This was again rejected by the court, and a third CBI investigation commenced.

In 2008, Father Thomas Kottoor, Father Jose Poothrukayil, and Sister Sephy were arrested and charged with murder, ten years after the first arrests in the case.

In 2009, the Kerala High Court granted them bail, and Poothrukayil was released.

The verdict was rendered by the CBI court in accordance with an order from the Kerala High Court that criticised the delay and directed that the case be heard daily.

The CBI court's judgement stated, "The evidence on file is more than sufficient to conclude that the unbroken chain of circumstances cumulatively points to the guilt of the accused, leading to a conclusion inconsistent with the accused's innocence."

In January 2021, a Division Bench of the Kerala High Court accepted the appeal filed by Father Kottoor.

In the appeal, it was argued that the trial court's decision was tainted by grave illegalities and was based on "unconnected storey circumstances culled from unreliable solitary witnesses," referring to the key witness Adakka Raju.

THOMAS KOTTOOR

Versus

STATE OF KERALA