Court grants all the three accused conditional bail saying it will be cancelled if they make or receive calls until further orders
Fr. Thomas Kuttoor
Court grants all the three accused conditional bail sayingu00a0 it will be cancelled if they make or receive calls until further orders
The Kerala High Court has granted conditional bail to the three accused Fr. Thomas Kuttoor, Fr. Jose Poothrakkayil and Sr. Sephy in the Sister Abhaya murder case, on January 1.u00a0
Justice K Hema ordered the accused not to leave the place where they resided without the permission of the magistrate court.
The accused have been asked not to use any telephone until further orders. In case they made or received any phone calls, the bail was liable to be cancelled. The court directed them to pay two solvent sureties of Rs 1 lakh each and surrender their passports. They have also been asked not to indulge in any act whatsoever to influence or intimidate any witness or tamper with evidence.
Taking strong objection to the pressure exerted on judiciary, Hema, while passing the bail order application said, "The judges are not like candles. They don't burn or melt away in the heat of the threat, which they may find in the next day's media headlines. The judges will act on the basis of facts and as per the law. Justice will prevail even if heaven falls on earth."
Media role
Justice Hema pulled up the media for mounting pressure on the court. "Media came up with their verdict without looking into the fact and the public also joined hands after going through the publications," Hema remarked.
u00a0Justice Hema, taking the team of CBI officers investigating the case to task,u00a0 said that they were busy chasing the media rather than chasing the object in the case.
'Futile exercise'
"It's all a futile exercise. Investigation means careful examination of facts and bringing the truth to light. You just cannot fix the target first, without any evidence, and then start hunting for evidence against them," she said.
The court directed the present team of officers to continue the investigation process only under strict supervision of an experienced senior officer.
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