SEPHY AND ORS. Vs. CENTRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The sole petitioner in Crl.M.C.No.8617/2019 and the sole petitioner in Crl.M.C.No.8616/2019 have been initially arrayed as accused 1 and 3 among the three accused in the instant Sessions Case, S.C.No. 1114/2011 on the file of the Court of the Addl. Sessions Judge cum Special Judge (SPE/CBI), Thiruvananthapuram, ("Special Court"? for short), in which the offences alleged therein are those punishable under Secs. 449, 302, 201 read with Sec. 34 of the I.P.C. The case arose out of a crime (Crime No.187/1992 of Kottayam West Police Station), which was later transferred to the respondent Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for further investigation and CBI reregistered said crime as Regular Case (RC No.8(S)/1993-SPE/KER. The respondent investigating agency (CBI) has filed the final report/charge sheet on 17.7.2009, which later led to the pendency of aforecaptioned Sessions Case, S.C.No. 1114/2011 on the file of the abovesaid Special Sessions Court dealing with the CBI cases.

(2.) The brief of the prosecution case is that on 27.3.1992, one Sister Abhaya, a nun, who belongs to a monastic order of the Roman Catholic community, was found dead in the well of the St. Pious Xth Convent Hostel, Kottayam, and a crime was thereupon registered as Crime No. 187/1992 of Kottayam West Police Station, in accordance with the provisions contained in Sec. 174 of the Cr.P.C.

(3.) Among the 3 accused persons, accused No.2 has been discharged in the abovesaid criminal proceedings as per common order (produced as Anx. III in Crl.M.C.No. 8616/2019) dated 7.3.2018 rendered by the abovesaid Special Court on Crl.M.P.No.12/2011 filed in the said Sessions Cases, S.C.No. 1114/2011. The said order of discharge has been confirmed by this Court as well as by the Apex Court. Pursuant to the said discharge, the aforementioned accused No.3 has been re-arrayed as accused No.2. The petitioner in Crl.M.C.No.8617/2019 and the petitioner in Crl.M.C.No. 8616/2019 will be hereinafter referred for short as A-1 and A-2 respectively. A-1 is a priest of the Roman Catholic community and A-2 is a Catholic nun, belonging to a monastic order of nuns of the Roman community. Long before all the aforementioned 3 accused persons were arraigned in the accused array in this case, A-3 was subjected to polygraph test on 7.11.1997, 11.11.1997 and 12.11.1997, brain mapping test between 22.9.2002 & 29.9.2002 and psychological assessment and polygraph test on