KOCHI: The Kerala high court on Thursday granted interim bail to Catholic priest Fr Thomas Kottoor and nun Sr Sephy sentenced to life imprisonment in the 1992 Sr Abhaya murder case. It also suspended the execution of their sentences awarded by a special CBI court in December 2020 till the disposal of appeals filed.
A bench of Justices K Vinod Chandran and C Jayachandran granted them bail subject to a bond of Rs 5 lakh each based on their application. "We do not dwell on the circumstance of lack of explanation or the bizarre ones of suicide given by the accused since that can form a link in the chain of circumstance and cannot solely lead to a conviction," the court said.
"On 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," it said.
Following the order, Sr Sephy was released from Attakulangara women's prison in the afternoon.
Sr Sephy released from women’s jail
The jail authorities received the bail order by 3pm and Sr Sephy was released soon after. However, Fr Kottoor is still in jail as the court order had not been served to Poojappura Central Prison.
The special court had awarded two life terms and a fine of Rs 5 lakh to Fr Kottoor under Section 302 IPC. Sr Sephy was also awarded life imprisonment under the same section in addition to seven years' rigorous imprisonment for tampering with evidence.
The body of 19-year-old Sr Abhaya was found in the well of St Pius Convent in Kottayam on March 27, 1992. The case was investigated by local police first and the crime branch later. After both investigations concluded it as a suicide, an action council was formed and activist Jomon Puthenpurackal challenged the findings on its behalf and the case was transferred to CBI in 1993.
The CBI recorded the arrest of two priests, Fr Kottoor and Fr Jose Puthrukkayil, and Sr Sephy in 2008. Puthrukkayil was, however, discharged in 2018 for lack of evidence.
Abhaya was a pre-degree student at a college run by the church and an inmate of the convent when the incident happened. The prosecution had contended that she was murdered after she witnessed some immoral activity involving the accused.
