INDIA - Court Castigates Investigators For Violating Rights Of Arrested Priests, Nun

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India (UCAN) - The Kerala High Court has criticized India's top investigating agency for not following legal procedures in arresting two priests and a nun in this southern Indian state.

The court said on Nov. 24 that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) "should have applied its mind" in seeking the remand of the three Church workers arrested in connection with the alleged murder of a Catholic nun 16 years ago.

The court, which is acting on petitions the arrested filed challenging a lower court's order remanding them to custody, also directed investigators to produce materials related to the case at another hearing it set for Nov. 26.

The CBI arrested Fathers Thomas Kottoor, 61, and Jose Poothrukayil, 56, on Nov. 18 and Sister Sephy, 45, a day later. The chief judicial magistrate of the lower court remanded them on Nov. 19 to 14 days in judicial custody, pending trial. Both courts are based in Kochi, the state's business capital, 2,595 kilometers south of New Delhi.

The Church people were arrested for their "suspected involvement" in the murder of Sister Abhaya, whose body was found in a well at her Pius X Convent in Kottayam on March 27, 1992. The nun was 21 when she died. She and the arrested nun belonged to the indigenous Sisters of St. Joseph Congregation.

Father Kottoor is the first accused in the case while Father Poothrukayil is the second accused and Sister Sephy the third, CBI officials told media soon after the remand order. But refused to reveal anything about the alleged roles the accused played in Sister Abhaya's death.

Justice R. Basant of the Kerala High Court, while hearing the petitions, noted the CBI's failure to produce extracts of the case diary along with the remand report in the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court.

According to Indian criminal procedure, the investigating officer should furnish a copy of the entries in the case diary to the magistrate and reveal to the court the grounds for detention.

Justice Basant also said the CBI should have submitted to the court details of the evidence against the accused in a sealed cover. "The investigation officer is bound to disclose the grounds for the arrest of the accused in the remand report," he pointed out.

The CBI counsel told the High Court that its investigation has proved the involvement of the accused in the murder, but disclosing the evidence "at this stage" would adversely affect further investigations. The counsel added that circumstantial evidence and witness statements also prove the involvement of the accused.

Father Poothrukayil's petition sought to nullify the remand order, maintaining that continuous detention of a person, especially a priest, for 14 days is "illegal, inhuman and hard." He said the CBI has not explained how far they have investigated and what more they expect to gather from the accused.

The petition said the investigating agency is bound to explain these in an affidavit and that the CBI has been silent about Father Poothrukayil's involvement in the case.

The priest told the High Court he was produced in court 30 hours after CBI officers arrested him. By law the arrested must be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours of the arrest.

The other petitioners also asked for their remand orders to be overturned on similar grounds. Their lawyers told the High Court the accused do not know why they were arrested.

The High Court directed the CBI to produce the case diary and evidence against the accused on Nov. 26 and insisted the rights of the accused be protected. "Even though the judiciary has played some role to ensure proper investigation, it's not a license to conduct investigation as they please," the judge remarked.

Father Poothrukayil asked the High Court to allow him to conduct prayers while in custody and to help him get a Bible for his daily prayers. "I want to pray and I need a Bible," the priest told the court, but it did not respond to his request.