Indian court rejects nun’s pre-arrest bail in conversion case
The case was fabricated when the nun refused to give in to the pressure to bend norms to allow a girl attend exams
Updated: April 14, 2025 12:48 PM GMT
A court in central India’s Chhattisgarh state has dismissed the pre-arrest bail application of a Catholic nun, who faces arrest after a student from her nursing college accused the nun of attempting to convert her to the Catholic faith.
A lower court in the predominantly tribal district of Jashpur on April 11 dismissed the anticipatory bail application of Sister Bincy Joseph, principal of Holy Cross Nursing College located in Kunkuri town.
The nun’s lawyer, Selerius Tirkey, told UCA News on April 14 that they plan to “approach the Bilaspur High Court,” the highest court in the state.
Tirkey said the nun has been charged with violating the provisions of the state’s anti-conversion law and other non-bailable clauses of India’s criminal code.
“The case is fabricated and totally false,” the lawyer said.
He said a team appointed by the district collector, the top district official, is now probing the case following the student nurse’s complaint.
The complainant told local media that she was barred from taking her final exam and denied entry to the campus for resisting the nun’s attempts to convert her.
In an April 7 statement, the nun said the “student’s allegations are a calculated attempt to defame the institution and cover up her own academic shortcomings.”
The nun, a Sisters of Mercy of Holy Cross member, said the student completed a three-year graduation course but skipped the practical sessions, which are mandatory to take the final exam as per the rules framed by the state’s nursing council.
The complainant also lacked enough attendance to appear for the exam.
However, right-wing activists picked up the case and conducted a massive protest in Kunkuri on April 10
Abhinandan Xalxo, president of the Jashpur Catholic Sabha (church), told UCA News on April 14 that these cases are fabricated to tarnish the Church and its institutions.
“This is a trumped-up case. The nun did not succumb to pressure to violate norms and allow the complaint to attend her final exam. That’s the issue,” he said.
“Our institution is targeted for providing quality education to the people from mostly underprivileged communities,” he said.
Xalxo said the local Christian community “is strongly with the nun. I’m sure the truth will prevail.”
The pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi runs the government in the state, where increasing violence against Christians is reported.
In recent months, Christians have faced social boycotts, assaults, and various threats from Hindus who want them to abandon their faith in Christ and return to the Hindu religious fold, their leaders said.
The state recorded 165 incidents of violence against Christians in 2024, which were second only to Uttar Pradesh, which topped with 209 incidents, according to data gathered by United Christian Forum (UCF), a New Delhi-based ecumenical body keeping track of persecution against Christians in India.
Christians make up less than 2 percent of Chhattisgarh’s 30 million people.
