Chhattisgarh Govt Disregarded Amit Shah's Directive Not to Oppose Nuns’ Bail: Thalassery Archbishop

PTI |  August 01, 2025 |  Kannur (Kerala)  :  Thalassery Archbishop Joseph Pamplany on Friday claimed that the Chhattisgarh government opposed the bail plea of two nuns arrested on allegations of human trafficking and forced conversion, despite directions from the Centre and Union Home Minister Amit Shah not to do so.

On the other hand, BJP’s Kerala state vice president Shone George, currently in Chhattisgarh, stated that the prosecution opposed the plea on purely technical grounds — that the case was still in its initial stages of investigation — and asserted that this would not hinder the nuns' chances of securing bail. “The prosecution did not oppose the bail plea on merits,” George told reporters.

Echoing a similar sentiment, BJP state general secretary Anoop Antony, also in Chhattisgarh, claimed there was no substantial objection from the prosecution.

However, public prosecutor Dauram Chandravanshi, after the hearing, confirmed that "the prosecution opposed the bail plea, submitting that the case is in its initial stage of investigation. The court has reserved its order till tomorrow (Saturday) after hearing both the parties."

Describing the development as “unfortunate and condemnable,” Archbishop Pamplany, a senior cleric of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, voiced strong disapproval. “When justice is denied in this manner, there is no other option but to protest on the streets,” he said while leading a demonstration in Thalassery.

He emphasized that the Church stood firmly against forced conversions but cautioned that “simply repeating that it was a forced conversion would not make it so.”

Pamplany also criticized legal frameworks that, according to him, enable harassment of minorities by mobs and extremist elements. “Laws which permit mobs, extremists, and anti-social elements to harass minorities should be withdrawn,” he said, referring implicitly to Chhattisgarh’s anti-conversion legislation.

He concluded by stating that “the time has long gone by” for central government intervention in the matter.