[BREAKING] Sister Abhaya murder case: Kerala High Court grants interim bail to convicts Father Kottoor, Sister Sephy

The Kerala High Court on Thursday allowed the plea moved by Father Thomas Kottoor and Sister Sephy seeking suspension of their sentence in the infamous Sister Abhaya case [Fr. Thomas Kottoor v Central Bureau of Investigation]..A division bench of Justices K Vinod Chandran and C Jayachandran passed the order granting them interim bail subject to furnishing personal of ₹5 lakh each and two solvent sureties of the same amount. "On a prima facie look at the evidence as pointed out by the defense, and not effectively countered by the prosecution, we cannot but release the two accused, as an interim measure, suspending their sentence till the disposal of the appeal", the order stated.The conditions imposed by the Court are as follows:The petitioners/ accused shall be released on bail on execution of a bond for ₹5,00,000 each with two solvent sureties, each for 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 are so released shall be excluded in computing the term of their sentence as provided in Section 389(4) Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC);They shall not indulge in any other crime;For the first six months after release, the petitioners shall report before the SHO concerned on every Saturday at 11 am and thereafter on every Second Saturday; andThe petitioners shall not leave the State, other than with the permission of the High Court..In December 2020, Kottoor, along with Sister Sephy, a nun of Pius Convent Kottayam, were convicted by a CBI Judge, Thiruvananthapuram for the murder of 20 year-old nun Sister Abhaya. Thereafter, they were sentenced to imprisonment for life and were also directed to pay a fine of ₹5 lakh each. Father Kottoor was also directed to pay a sum of ₹ 1 lakh for house trespass..The verdict of the CBI Court had come more than 28 years after Sister Abhaya was found murdered at a convent in Kottayam district of Kerala.Her body was found inside the well of the convent on March 27,1992. The case itself saw many twists and turns before it was eventually tried in court.In 1993, the State police filed a closure report saying it was a case of suicide. The matter was then handed over to CBI after an activist, Jomon Puthenpurackal took it to court.However, in 1996, the CBI filed a report stating it could not conclude whether it was a homicide or suicide. The Court, however, rejected the same and ordered re-investigation.A year later, CBI concluded that the case was indeed a homicide but there was no evidence to try the case.This was again rejected by the court and a third round of CBI probe began. Ten years later, the first arrests are made in the case when Father Thomas Kottoor, Father Jose Poothrukayil, and Sister Sephy were arrested and charged for murder in 2008.They were later granted bail by the Kerala High Court in 2009 and Poothrukayil was discharged.Pursuant to an order of the Kerala High Court deriding the delay and directing that the matter be heard on a day-to-day basis, the CBI court delivered the verdict."The evidence on record is more than sufficient to hold that the unbroken catena of circumstances is so complete that it cumulatively points towards the guilt of the accused, leading to the conclusion which is inconsistent with the innocence of the accused,” the CBI court's judgment read. .The appeal moved by Father Kottoor was admitted by a Division Bench of the Kerala High Court in January 2021.It was contended in the appeal that the trial court's judgment is vitiated by grave illegalities and is based on "unconnected story circumstances culled out from unreliable solitary witnesses," in a reference to key witness Adakka Raju..The accused were represented by Senior Advocates B Raman Pillai and P Vijayabhanu and advocates R Anil, M Sunilkumar, Chacko Simon, VB Sujesh Menon, T Anilkumar, Thomas Abraham, Mahesh Bhanu, S Lakshmi Sankar, Ressil Lonan, Thomas J Anakkallunkal, Sojan Michael and Maria Paul. .[Read Order]