Kochi: The Kerala High Court has ratified the order of the special CBI Court acquitting Fr Jose Poothrukkayil, one of the accused in the sensational Sister Abhaya murder case.
While responding to the petition filed by activist Jomon Puthenpurakkal against the CBI Court ruling acquitting Fr Jose, the High Court also ruled that Fr Thomas M Kottoor and Sr Sephy, the other accused should face trial as per the earlier CBI Court ruling.
K T Michael, former Superintendent of Police, Crime Branch, was also acquitted by the High Court.
The HC refused to accept the pleas made by Fr Kottoor and Sr Sephy to acquit them as well like Fr Jose.
The CBI had filed charge sheet on July 9, 2009 naming Fr Kottoor, Fr Jose and Sr Sephy as the first, second and third accused. Fr Jose was acquitted from the case after a gap of nine years since the filing of the charge sheet.
Sister Abhaya was found dead inside St Pius Convent in Kottayam on March 27, 1992.
Written off as a suicide by the local police and the Crime Branch, the case took dramatic turns once it was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) following a public outcry.
After investigation by several agencies, the CBI concluded that Abhaya’s death was a classic case of homicidal drowning and filed a charge-sheet against two priests and a nun for the crime in July 2009.
Sister Sephy and two priests, Kottoor and Jose, were arraigned under Sections 302 (murder), 201 (destruction of evidence) and 499 (defamation).
The agency submitted that the two priests had illicit relations with Sister Sephy, which was known to Sister Abhaya, and they decided to kill her after they felt that she would reveal it to someone.
The CBI took over the case on March 29, 1993. Until 1995, the agency too maintained that there was no substantial evidence suggesting that Abhaya was murdered.
On April 7, 1995, the CBI conducted an experimental test using a full-sized dummy of the victim. Based on the findings, the agency established it as a case of homicide. However, the investigators could not determine the perpetrators due to the destruction of evidence and case properties.
Finally, the three accused were arrested on November 19, 2008. After a remand of one-and-a-half months, they were given bail by the high court.
In March 2018, the CBI court acquitted Fr Jose and refused to discharge the case against Sr Sephy and Fr Thomas Kottoor, and ordered that they both face trial in the 27-year-old case.
The order was based on a discharge plea filed by the three accused, including Fr Jose, contending that they had undergone a "considerably long" term of incarceration during investigation. The court, accepting Fr Jose's submission, set him free, saying he need not face further trial.
