The Hindu : Kerala / Kochi News : Abhaya case: Hearing on nuns’ plea adjourned HIGH COURT ROUND-UP

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Abhaya case: Hearing on nuns’ plea adjourned HIGH COURT ROUND-UP

Kochi: A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Monday adjourned to December 9 the hearing on a writ petition filed by 18 nuns and an inmate of St Joseph’s Generalate, SH Mount, Kottayam, including Mother Annie John, Superior-General of St Joseph’s Congregation, alleging that CBI officers were harassing them under the guise of investigating the Sister Abhaya murder case.

The Bench comprising Justice K. Balakrishnan Nair and Justice M.C. Hari Rani adjourned the case to enable the CBI to take instructions in the case.

The congregation runs the Pius X Convent Hostel, Kottayam, where the body of sister Abhaya, an inmate, was found. Of the petitioners, Sr. Shirly, Sr. Sudeepa and Ms. Achamma were present at the convent on the day of the incident. Sr. Shirly was a roommate of the deceased. Ms. Achamma was in charge of the hostel kitchen.

The petitioners alleged that the present investigating team was harassing them and other inmates.

The action of the investigating officers in taking the nuns and other persons, who are the witnesses in the case, to various places and interrogating them in those places was against the statutory provision of section 160(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure Code.

As per the section, no woman shall be taken to any place other than the place of her residence for questioning.

The petitioners sought a directive to the CBI not to harass them under the guise of questioning and take the petitioners away from their ordinary place of residence to unknown places.

Government criticised

Justice S. Siri Jagan on Monday criticised the government action in offering building tax concessions to those in the tourism field in the first place and later withdrawing such concessions.

The court, while dismissing a petition filed by a hotelier against the rejection of his request for building tax exemption, observed that it was unbecoming of a government to go back on its promise after having encouraged the entrepreneurs to embark on construction of hotels in the tourism sector by offering tax concessions.

The concession was offered in 1986. The government also amended the Kerala Building Tax Act in 1990 to enable the entrepreneurs to get the concessions.

However, in 1993 the concession was withdrawn by deleting the section on the concession from the Act.

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