A sessions court in Durg, Chhattisgarh, on Wednesday (July 30, 2025) disposed of the bail application of the arrested Christian nuns from Kerala, observing that it does not have the jurisdiction to hear cases under Section 143 of BNS (human trafficking), according to the lawyer for the two nuns. The court added that they may have to move to an NIA court for further legal action.

The arrest of two Keralite nuns on charges of human trafficking and kidnapping for forced religious conversion at the Durg railway station in Chhattisgarh on July 25, 2025, has drawn sharp criticism from Church leaders and also the ruling front and the Opposition in Kerala.

Authorities at the Durg Central Prison in Chhattisgarh have assured to shift the incarcerated and reportedly ailing Keralite nuns Vandana Francis and Preeta Mary of the order of the Assisi Sisters of Mary Immaculate (ASMI) to the district hospital, according to members of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) delegation that visited the duo at the prison on Wednesday (July 30, 2025).