Sister Abhaya Case

SISTER ABHAYA CASE
 Official Name of Case – Abhaya case

 Petitioners – An activist, Jomon Puthenpurackal
petitioned and demanded CBI Probe from the Kerala
High Court
 Deciding Authority/Court – Special CBI Court ,
Thiruvananthapuram
 Verdict announced on – December 23 , 2020
 Judge – K. Sanilkumar
 Found Guilty were- Father Thomas Kottoor and Sister
Sephy
 Sentence Announced – Life Imprisonment along with
a fine of Rs. 5 lakh each.
Facts of Case:- Sister Abhaya , born Beena

Thomas, had taken holy orders in May 1990 and was
pursuing a pre-degree course at the BCM College in
Kottayam. The story began on March 27, 1992, when
the body of sister Abhaya was found dead in the well
of St Pius X Convent Hostel in Kottayam in Central
Kerala. The Hostel and the nunnery were both
managed by the Knanaya Catholic Church, an
affluent and influential Christian denomination with
deep roots in the state. Fire brigade officials soon
fished out the body of Sister Abhaya, 21 an inmate
of the hostel. A pair of slippers belonging to her was
found on the ground floor of the hostel near the
kitchen. Her head cover remained trapped in the
outer door. A hand axe was lying in a corner.
A Phase of Investigation’s:-
The Kerala State Crime Branch, which took over the
investigation from the local police 17 days after the
incident, was quick to conclude that this was a case
of suicide by an emotionally troubled novitiate. After
the crime branch closed the case as suicide, it was
largely due to efforts of Social activist Jomon
Puthenpurackal that the court handed over the case
to the CBI. The CBI concluded that it was a case of
homicide, not suicide. However, unable to prove
who murdered Sister Abhaya, the agency tried to
close the Case initially. But after a long hassle the CBI
succeeded and its prosecution case was that Sister
Abhaya had gone downstairs to fetch drinking water
early morning on March 27 when she accidentally
caught Father Kottoor, who had sneaked into the
hostel, being intimate with Sister Sephy, the sole
occupant of the ground floor room that day. To
cover up the wrongdoing, they attacked her with a
blunt weapon and flung her into the well.
There were several and continuous attempts from
the first day to derail the investigation. The mother
superior of the convent, Sister Lessieux, who called
the fire brigade, apparently told that sister Abhaya
had fallen into the well while operating the well.
V.V. Augustine, additional sub-inspector who
prepared the FIR, allegedly destroyed the inquest
report. He was arraigned as an accused by the CBI.
Augustine died by suicide in November 2008, soon
after the first arrests were made in the case. Sister
Lessieux’s death also dealt a blow to the
Investigation.
Material evidence collected from the scene had
already been destroyed when the CBI took over the
case. Crime Branch DySP K. Samuel and SP K.T.
Michael were involved in the destruction of evidence
asserted the court while pronouncing judgment. To
its credit CBI had made Samuel an accused, but he
died, and Michael was exculpated by a court. Several
early investigating officials including Samuel, shows
the judgment, were also involved in fabricating cases
against one of the key witnesses, Raju aka Adacka
Raju, a petty thief whose evidence proved valuable
in the case. The second accused in the CBI case was
Father Poothrikkayil, but was discharged due to
want of evidence. The CBI investigation later moved
at Snail’s pace though at last reached its destination.
Final Judgment:-
The 229 page judgment , pronounced after wading
through a maze of evidence, material and
circumstantial, on December 23 mentions Sister
Abhaya as a “ pious, smart and punctilious girl,
meticulous in all aspects, leading an altruistic life and
that it was impossible for her to have ended her life
on her own…”
The Court was satisfied that it was a case of sex and
murder and that Sister Abhaya was killed for
chancing upon the amorous liaison of Father Kottoor
and Sister Sephy. The position and Nature of head
injury on her body lent credence that she was
subjected to assault. A majority of hostel inmates
turned hostile, nuns narrated a peculiar and scripted
tales, while the court relied on Raju’s evidence to
establish the presence of Father Kottoor in the
Convent that night.
“Raju may have been a thief but he was and is an
honest man, a simple person without the need to
dissemble, a human being who became a
professional thief by the force of circumstances, but
a speaker of truth nonetheless,” the court observed,
analysing his depositions at great length. Raju had
been detained and tortured for 58 days to extract a
confession that he had murdered Sister Abhaya and
when he did not budge, lucrative offers were made.
The court evaluated his depositions and demeanour
and was convinced that he had gone to the convent
to steal copperplates from the lightning arrester that
night when in the early hours, he spotted Father
Kottoor and another man with a torch on the
terrace.
According to the court, Father Kottoor failed to “give
a proper explanation for his presence in the Convent
during the wee hours”. The location of murder,
observed the judge, “is exceedingly significant. It is a
convent, a place from which male presence is
completely and unequivocally banned. The murder is
that of a nun, a Bride of Christ”.
A medical examination of Sister Sephy suggested she
underwent hymenoplasty “almost on the eve of her
arrest by the CBI” to create the impression of being a
virgin and to hide his past sexual intercourse
experiences.
Subsequently, both Father Kottoor and Sister Sephy
were found guilty of section 302(murder) along with
section 201(destruction of evidence) and were
awarded Life Imprisonment besides a fine of Rs. 5
lakhs each. Father Kottoor was also charged guilty of
house trespass.
Issues Raised –
 What are the legal grounds on
which the convicts can be
subjected to Narcoanalysis test
without infringing the convict’s
Rights.
 It brought spotlight on the shoddy
working of state police in high-
profile regional cases.
 It highlighted the Role of Central
agencies in investigating state
specific matters.
 Immediate reforms in Police
Technology as to prevent the
trend of disposal/Erasing of Facts.
 The need of speedy justice
delivery system in our nation.
By – Vikash Kumar
BA-LLB 1st Sem
[Reference = The Hindu]

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SISTER ABHAYA CASE

 Official Name of Case – Abhaya case

Facts of Case:- Sister Abhaya , born Beena

[Reference = The Hindu]

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