Matter of NIA act: Durg court refuses to hear nuns’ petition

A sessions court in Chhattisgarh’s Durg district on Wednesday disposed of the bail petitions of two nuns from Kerala arrested in an alleged conversion and human trafficking case, stating that the matter falls under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act and should be heard by the NIA court in Bilaspur.

- HT Correspondent

Ravi Shankar Singh, secretary of the Durg Advocates Association, said the bail application was filed with the sessions judge on Tuesday. “Today, the judge was on leave, so the additional district judge heard the bail application. In one line, the judge said that he does not have authority to hear the bail application because the matter comes under the NIA Act and the NIA court is in Bilaspur,” he said.

Singh further said when the defence lawyers pointed out that the accused are in Durg jail, the judge said he was disposing of the application. “The court told the police they have 15 days to write to the government to transfer the case to the NIA court,” he added.