Former Kerala High Court judge Kemal Pasha says Abhaya will never be able to get justice because the church she believed in fought for her killers, and not her.
A 21-year-old nun was murdered in cold blood to keep a secret safe. The nun accidentally saw two priests and a nun indulging in a sexual act in the convent where she resided. Later, Sister Abhaya was found dead in the well of the same convent, Saint Pious XI in the Kottayam district of Kerala, in March 1992. With the Crimes Section declaring that it was a case of death by suicide, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested the defendants Only after 15 years and crucial witnesses who turned hostile during the trial that began only in 2019, justice continued to evade Sister Abhaya for more than 28 years. Finally, on December 22, 2020, an IWC court found the defendant, Father Thomas Kottoor and Sister Sephy, guilty of the murder of the young nun. However, can this verdict in the case of the murder of Mr Abhaya, after 28 years, be considered as justice done?
The young nun’s parents, who struggled their entire lives to uncover the truth about their daughter’s death, died years before getting any relief from the court of law. But according to Kemal Pasha, a former Kerala High Court judge, Abhaya will never be able to get justice, not because of delays by the judiciary, but because the church she believed in fought for her killers and not for her.
After the trial in the case of Mr Abhaya was completed on December 18 this year, a message, claiming to be from the Superior General of a convent, was circulating on social media platforms. In the post, the mother superior asks other sisters to sing a particular prayer 13 times to obtain a verdict ‘in her favor’. The prayer was not for Abhaya’s justice.
That said, Judge Kemal Pasha also noted that the case suffered a setback due to the ineffective early stage investigation. “The first arrest was made only 15 years after his death. Initially, the police and the Crimes Division played well to make it a suicide. KT Michael, the investigating officer, destroyed all the crucial evidence and closed the case, calling it a death by suicide, “Kemal Pasha told TNM.
Later, when the CBI took over the case in 1993, it was then-Deputy Superintendent of Police Varghese P Thomas who first filed the report, stating that it was a murder case. “He had to go through immense pressure. Both the Crimes Section and his superior officers pressured him to change his findings, but he didn’t. Then they planned to transfer him to another state. That is how he voluntarily retired, even though he was seven years old. more of service, “said Kemal Pasha.
According to the former Kerala High Court judge, in a sense justice was served to Varghese, not to Abhaya. Explaining this, he said: “We cannot say that Abhaya or her parents got justice; Varghese did. She was proven right, that she was killed. Abhaya can never get justice because her church fought for her killers, not her.”
How the judiciary helped
By the way, the IWC court in Thiruvananthapuram also played a crucial role in this case. It did not allow the CBI to close the case even after they approached the court with three different reports on the case each time. In the first report, filed on November 29, 1996, the IWC suggested closing the case as “untracked.” In the second report (July 12, 1999), he said that Sister Abhaya was murdered, but the accused could not be found. In the third report of August 30, 2005, the investigating agency suggested a local inspection to assess the factual aspects of the case.
“But the court did not allow them to close the case, they asked the CBI to continue the investigation. That is how, in 2008, the three defendants were arrested,” Kemal Pasha said. Although Father José Poothrikkayil was cited as a defendant, he was later discharged from the case. “For this same reason, the 16-year delay cannot be attributed to the judiciary. If the court had closed the case then, justice would not have been served now, “he added.
Defender J Sandhya, a Thiruvananthapuram-based women’s rights activist, said, on the other hand, that Mr Abhaya’s case shows how a judicial system should not be. The defendant who filed an appeal to higher courts was cited as a reason for the delay in the case after 2008. “Appealing to higher courts is your right, but more importantly, it is about maintaining a time frame and finish the case within that period. Endless appeals delaying the case cannot be allowed, “he said.
“This case is also a message that no matter how long the case is delayed, no one can escape the crime they committed,” he said.
How the church failed Mr Abhaya
Sister Jesme, a retired writer and university director of St Mary’s College in Thrissur, had left the Congregation of the Carmelite Mother 12 years ago. She also agreed that it was the church that failed Mr. Abhaya.
“The church will not tolerate any accusations against them. They do not support the victim. We have seen that note asking for the prayer of the superior general. They never cared about justice for Abhaya,” Sister Jesme said.
“I heard that a person who lived near the convent helped clean up all the evidence that morning after Sister Abhaya’s body was found in the well. The convent was intentionally slow to report it to the police. They were waiting to make sure that Sister Abhaya was dead so no one could get her final statement, “Jesme alleged.
He also alleged that the then Union government (under PV Narasimha Rao) had helped the church protect the accused. “There were lapses on the part of the investigators and the judiciary. But the court was judicious in telling the CBI not to close the case, “he added.
Sister Jesme said that the church considered the accused as “saints.” “They were warmly welcomed when they were out on bail in 2008. They distributed candy when they were out. Over and over again, Abhaya failed there,” Jesme said.
A little thief, Adakka Raju, stood firm in her statement until the very end while all the other sisters turned hostile. So who is the true Christian here? “He asked, accusing them of being ‘slaves’ who simply follow the instructions given by the officials above.
“I advocate solitary asceticism rather than being part of a community because these systems function today like a gang from the underworld,” he said.
Read also: Murder of Sister Abhaya: Life imprisonment for Father Kottoor and Sister Sephy
Explainer: What is the Sister Abhaya case and why did it take 28 years for a verdict?
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