The sessions court in Durg denied bail for the nuns on Wednesday and said they should approach the National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Bilaspur. The court observed that it lacked jurisdiction because human trafficking charges fall under the NIA Act.Quoting the Home Minister, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) MP Haris Beeran told this paper that the NIA court does not have any jurisdiction for trying this case.“If an offence under UAPA has to be slapped, then the concerned state government will have to give an application to the NIA director over here, who in turn will come to the Union Home Ministry and get an approval for an UAPA offence. In this case, nothing of that sort has happened. Therefore, the NIA court does not have any jurisdiction for trying this case,” he said.“Yesterday’s decision of the trial court was an illegal order,” added Beeran.The nuns, Preeta Mary and Vandana Francis, were arrested on 25 July at Durg railway station, following a complaint by local Bajrang Dal member Ravi Nigam. The arrests have sparked a political storm, as Kerala MPs raised the issue in Parliament and demanded immediate intervention from the Centre to release them.
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