Overview

• On July 29, 2025, Additional Sessions Judge K. Kamanees acquitted the two nuns of all charges and ordered their bail bonds cancelled
• The nuns had been accused under IPC Sections 370(1), 370(2), 370(5) and Section 34, along with Section 26 of the Juvenile Justice Act
• The case originated in 2022 from a complaint alleging the nuns brought three girls from Jharkhand to Thrissur under the pretext of domestic work
• The court found no evidence of threats, coercion, deception, forced labour or bondage and noted the girls travelled with parental consent and by their own choice
• The verdict highlights the stringent burden of proof required for human trafficking allegations under India’s IPC and juvenile justice laws